Simply Perfect
by TheLadyIntegra
Summary: 12 year old Rin befriends Cell in his larval form. Trouble strikes when he hatches four years later, deciding it's time to get of rid her. With the Z-warriors around, that may just be a problem. Unfortunately for Cell, the girl isn't willing to let him go and killing her seems to be impossible. Dark, but not a darkfic. No Mary-Sue and not OOC. ON HIATUS.
1. Chapter 1

Just a story that's been floating around my brain for weeks now.

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Chapter One

In an empty landscape of silent, grassy hills and blue skies, a shadow rose to the surface of a small pool. A hand erupted with a small splash, followed by a head, gasping for air. A young bespectacled woman coughed up a mouthful of water, wincing at the small silver fish that made its way safely away down the stream, hoping to never again be bother by screaming girls with big mouths that swallow.

The forlorn figure slowly rose from the cold depths of the river, tattered green pyjamas depicting fat penguins with various expressions of surprise sticking to her skin. Her dirty blonde hair – darkened to brown as it was wet – hung in a drowned braid down her shoulder. Muddy-green eyes blinked away droplets of water from behind large, rectangular glass lenses. Hanging in the air, she sniffled, small nose wrinkling under a light dusting of freckles.

The midday sun shone on her pale skin, revealing various injuries and bruises smattered over her body. Her battered form let out a heavy sigh, droplets of water dripping from her body into the river below her, sliding down her bare feet and falling off her toes. She used her small hands to twist her braid, wringing as much liquid out of her hair as possible. With a dejected look, she flew away from the pool, leaving nothing but ripples and the accusing glares of several fish behind.

"I probably deserved that," She muttered as she sped over the land, her eyes set on a white square in the distance. An embarrassed flush rose on her cheeks as she considered the actions that had landed her in the pool in the first place. She was actually surprised that Cell hadn't held her under the water until she drowned.

The apology was already set on her lips as she neared the arena, realising that continued survival might just depend on her ability to grovel, when she faltered at the sight of not one, but several people in and around the ring.

Cell stood with his eyes closed, arms crossed and still as a statue – as usual. A trembling man held a microphone up to the green androids lips, a look of terror on his face. He was dressed in some ridiculous armour, with a large construction-hat strapped to his head in some pointless form of defence. Two more men huddled behind a rock just outside the ring. She could sense Cell's annoyance in his energy, and she hovered above the arena, unsure on how to proceed.

"And of course if you're too busy to answer I completely and totally understand, Mr Cell!" The interviewer cried, and her heart went out to the poor man. She stiffened as Cell raised his head, eyes opening to glare straight up at her. She flinched at the expression in his magenta orbs.

"Rin." He said her name coldly, his order clear. It said _'Get rid of them before I do it myself'_.

"Y-yes sir!" She exclaimed, falling through the air to land in the arena with a squelch. The interviewer pried his eyes open and gasped as he was met with the sight of a sopping wet, bedraggled Rin.

"What's this? A girl? Miss, you really shouldn't be here! Don't you know we're in the presence of the world-threatening Cell?"

Rin sent the said world-threatener a nervous grin before laughing, "Um, yes, I know." Her bare feet pattered across the arena as she hurried to the man's side, placing a soft but firm hand over his shoulder, "And speaking of which, we really should get moving now…"

"Miss, you're interfering with very important footage right now! I suggest you run while you still can and let me finish this_…*gulp*…_interview." The man protested as she led him away from Cell. She blinked in surprise.

"Footage?" She took a closer look at the two hiding behind the rock and gasped excitedly, "Oh wow, is that a camera! Hey Cell, look! We're on TV!" She shouted over her shoulder. Ignoring the baffled interviewer, she sprung to Cell's side, grinning despite his stony gaze. Placing her hand around her mouth, she leaned up and whispered to him, "This is good! Aren't you the one who wanted things to be all publicised?"

He scowled down at her, "The Game's aren't until tomorrow, and I have no interest in conversing with these pathetic humans."

She stepped back, tapping her chin thoughtfully, "Fair enough. Can I talk to them?"

Cell made a face before chuckling darkly, "And what would you say? Don't tell me you want to confess to your sins!"

He rolled his eyes at the sound of the reporter whispering, _"Folks, I don't know if you're seeing this, but Cell seems to be having a friendly conversation with a mysterious and wet blonde lady. Needless to say, this reporter is astounded!"_

She blushed at being described as _'mysterious and wet'_, staring bashfully at the ground.

"I…I had considered it." She murmured, smiling slightly at the size difference between Cell's feet and hers, "This is my opportunity to tell the world our story, and maybe let them understand what's been happening. I owe them that much."

She curled her toes nervously, looking up to meet Cell's dispassionate gaze. After a few moments he shrugged and turned away, "Do as you wish. If you want to become the most hated woman on the planet, I certainly won't stop you."

She flinched at his words, opening her mouth to protest before deciding against it. With a sigh, she turned back to the reporter, who was eyeing the pair of them with disconcerted interest. She forced a friendly smile on her face and squelched over to them.

"It's alright," She said, "I'm going to be taking the interview instead."

The reported blinked, glancing between her and Cell several times before pushing his glasses up his nose, clearly dumbfounded, "Yes, well, we really came to speak to Cell…" His eyes lingered on the bio-android's stiff back for a moment before darting away fearfully, "But I'm sure the folks at home are just as curious to hear about you!"

"Great! Let's go have a seat in my camp." She hopped off the ring, leading the interviewer to the small camp beside the ring. An old tent, a mini-fridge and a cooking pot suspended over a fire-pit served as her living area. She busied herself setting up two fold-up chairs, discreetly shoving several liquor bottles into her tent.

"If you don't mind me asking," The interviewer began as he took a seat, "Why are you all wet?"

"Oh," She waved a dismissive hand, "Cell dropped me into a river…but never mind that. I want to start at the beginning."

"Alright," The interviewer said, "Well, why don't you start by telling the folks at home your name."

Rin turned to the camera-man wearing the orange construction-hat and smiled nervously, "My name is Rin, and I was twelve years old when I met Cell. I looked younger though, I think, because I was so small and wimpy. I was born a month prematurely, so I was tiny and almost blind without my glasses. I must have seemed pathetic to him, this twiggy little kid with nothing but some baby-fat keeping her from blowing away in the wind. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

"As I said, I was born prematurely. My mother didn't make it through my birth, and my father hadn't even stuck around long enough to find out that she was pregnant. So I was effectively orphaned. Luckily, the old woman who had delivered me took pity on me when she realised I was all alone, and took me home with her. Her name was Patty, and I loved her with all my heart. I still remember the way her cheeks always had these little dimples from her sweet smile. She's still alive, if that's what you're wondering. I'm speaking in past tense because I have a feeling that I won't be for much longer, and I don't think I'll ever see her again. But I digress.

"I called her Grandma Pat, and she was married to a sour old man named Kurama. Grandpa Kurama was grumpy, mean and downright unpleasant, but Grandma Pat and I both loved him to pieces. He ran an ancient dojo that taught a type of martial arts called 'The Way of the Mongoose'. I know it sounds ridiculous, but trust me, it was effective. Mongoose Style had been around for centuries, apparently, and was one of the oldest, least heard of and most-respected martial arts around.

"We lived in a little cottage in the Unoku Mountains, right next to the dojo. Grandpa Kurama had quite a soft spot for me, and when I was nothing but a four year old shrimp he took a firm grip on my education. He trained me to fight, and somehow my strength grew rapidly. Mongoose Style, much like Turtle or Crane Style, focuses not just on technique, but also on controlling the flow of energy. By the time I was eight, I could chop down trees with a punch and throw grown men across a room. I was my grandpa's star pupil.

"Until Anko came along. He was five years older than me, and incredibly handsome. Immediately I fell in love with him. I turned into a blubbering, blushing mess whenever I was near him. I should probably have mentioned this, but I am now, and always have been, a spineless coward. As a kid I used to faint at the sight of bugs and hide under tables when strangers came knocking. It took very little to get me blushing, and even less to have me cowering behind Grandma Pat's skirts.

"I was never one of those confident, powerful girls who would laugh in the face of danger. I was more likely to grovel at danger's feet and offer it a flower as a peace offering in the hopes that it wouldn't squash me. I'm just a naturally timid person, something which annoyed my grandpa to no end.

_"Grow a back-bone, girl! Show some guts!"_ He would growl. To which I would respond with flushed cheeks and downcast eyes and whimper something along the lines of:

_"Y-yes sir!"_

"I shied away from conflicts, and the only time I was ever willing to engage in battle was when my grandpa was watching with his stern, critical eye as I sparred with his other students. And even then, I would always begin the fight with a nervous, shaky little bow and a worried frown.

"As you've probably guessed by now, I didn't have any friends. The only people who I ever got to see were my grandpa's pupils, who wanted nothing to do with the stupid girl with the glasses too big for her face. This brings me back to Anko. He was a beautiful brunette, with gorgeous blue eyes and a cocky, confident smile. Thinking back, I can't imagine what I ever saw in him. I only know what he saw in me.

"I'm not exactly beautiful. Coupled with my tendency to stutter and blush when nervous, I can almost understand why Anko did what he did.

"Almost.

"When I was nine years old, I finally plucked up the courage to have a conversation with him. He was sitting with his friends behind the dojo, laughing and chatting and looking so gorgeous and grown up. There must be something wrong with my danger-senses, because I somehow end up terrified of nothing and brave when faced with pure evil.

"I sidled up to them, playing with the hem of my dress. I noticed a scrape on my knee and self-consciously tugged the material over it, not wanting Anko to see the ugly mark. I was one of those kids who always had bruises on their legs. I sensed someone staring at me, and looked up to catch Anko's blue eyes narrowed, pinning me down. His four friends were sending me similar glares. I felt a familiar nervous flush rise in my cheeks.

"_What do you want, Mole-Face?" He asked, his usually polite tone hostile._

"_I-I-I came t-to say hello, M-Mister Anko." I stuttered, my toes curling in fear. Things were already going badly._

_One of Anko's friends, Maru I think, sneered down at me, "Oh, you c-came to say h-h-hello, hmm shrimp?"_

_They all laughed, and I lowered my eyes in shame at his mocking._

"_Look at her, she's so stuck up and weird."_

"_Kurama-sensei is stupid to bother with someone so pathetic," Anko added. I felt tears rising in my eyes and I stared at my feet, my lip trembling._

"_Oh, you gonna cry, Mole-Face?" He mocked, before grabbing the side of my head and slamming it against the dojo wall. I cried out in pain and fell to the floor, curling in on myself, tears now running fast down my cheeks. _

"_Tch. What a loser," Maru scoffed, and I flinched as they all filed past me, leaving me alone on the floor._ I stayed there for a while, slightly shocked at what had happened. Anko, my first crush, had turned out to be a complete jerk and I had no idea how to deal with it. I went crying to Grandma Pat, but she was unable to get me to tell her what had happened. I never told on Anko, and so for the next few years I became his personal punching bag.

"It was never anything serious, but I became terrified if I saw him alone. If he caught me, he would trip me or elbow me in the face or something mundane like that. I avoided the dojo altogether on training days, and began to spend a lot of my time in the forest.

"At first it scared me, with all the bugs, wild cats and dinosaurs. Soon however, I somehow befriended most of them. My power would often assist me when I was in dire need, and so the more dangerous animals that tried to mess with me eventually learned their place.

"I spent those three years avoiding Anko and learning my way around the forest, slowly gaining confidence. I was still as shy and timid as ever, but I was no longer frightened inside the protective arms of the trees. It felt like a safe place, where no-one could catch me. Grandma Pat watched me slowly become more wild and withdrawn, and managed to keep me inside sometimes by teaching me how to cook and bake. Grandpa Kurama approved of my play-time, and said that it was helping me become less of a scaredy-cat. I was glad for that, but I eventually became very lonely. I had no friends, and no-one to talk to. My only company was skittish animals and dinosaurs who tried to eat me when I let my guard down. Even when I spoke to them, I knew they neither understood nor cared about my problems.

"Until I met _him._

"I was twelve and a half years old, swinging through the forest with a smile on my face when I heard a roar, and a screech I didn't recognise. One of the Tyrannosaurus's I had encountered a few times seemed to be attacking something. I immediately felt sorry for whatever it was, so I hurried over to where it was happening. I managed to kick the T-Rex out of the way and carry his victim to safety. When I felt I had traveled a safe distance, I put him down, and found myself in the company of the strangest creature…"

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Hope you liked, more will obviously come and much will be explained. The next chapter will take place 'Four Years Earlier'. This is not going to be a rushed romance - heck, it will barely be a romance at all. This is also not a time travel fic, not a 'ten days kidnapped by the monster before falling in love' fic, and my OC will be more powerful, but not Mary-Sue super-saiyan crap. She is HUMAN, and thus will have human limitations. Given that Krillin is the most powerful human (lol) this should give you an indication of her power level.

Let me know what you think. :)


	2. Chapter 2

Hey everybody! I just want to thank my five awesome reviewers! You guys are the beez-kneez! Quite a turn out for a first chapter :D I was pretty amped to get this one out, so there might be a few mistakes in here. I'll reread and go through it a couple of times and re-post the edited chapter if I find any errors.

Also, a note about Rin's little monologue at the end of the first chapter, with the interviewer. I know it would have been more realistic to have the interviewer ask questions instead of just having her running her mouth off like that, but lets be real here: isn't that exactly what they would do in DBZ? The amount of one sided dialogue on that show is truly impressive, so I guess I was just rolling with that. So, don't take it too seriously please ^^

Chapter 2

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In a dark corner of the Unoku Mountain Forest appeared something that did not belong. The trees loomed over his odd form, bathing his body in shadow. Bushes rustled and leaves crunched as the creature shuffled through the undergrowth, bulky form moving with an odd, lumbering gait. Four reptilian legs, ending in three-toed feet dug into the wet earth, leaving behind alien footprints.

Two cat-like eyes with an unearthly pink glow seemed to glare at the world from their place just above the ground, somehow managing to reflect soul-chilling intelligence and malicious intent. A ray of sunlight valiantly pierced an ancient tree's encompassing shadow, illuminating the creature further and revealing an insect-like being. It had a dark-green exoskeleton and two stunted wings that seem too small to possibly allow flight.

'_I am the catalyst,' _the creature thought, eyes narrowing contemplatively, _'I am the start of the finish, the beginning of the end.'_

With less satisfaction, he added, _'But I am incomplete.'_

His odd, cocoon like body pushed forward at an infuriatingly slow pace. The creature could barely hide his frustration, and he internally damned Bulma Brief's for not building a larger time capsule – one that could contain him in his hatched state. The years he would have to spend waiting to re-develop would be a constant torture, while somewhere out there his precious children lay in wait for him.

And his current state felt so…undignified.

He also could not stand the intense feeling of vulnerability. The trees themselves seemed to whisper ominously, as if they were looking down on him with disapproval. Every rustle or snap set him on edge. The Earth rejected him, as it had rejected his creator. Not for long however. Soon all the creatures of the world would cower beneath him and worship him for everything that they were not.

'_For I am destined for Perfection.'_

_Perfection. _The creature gave a visible shiver at the thought. The word rolled around his mind, every syllable more glorious than a lovers caress. His destiny, his purpose. To be whole and complete and to possess that which was utterly unattainable to any but he. The doctor's words still rang clearly: _'You are my __**ultimate**__ creation and in you, something __**glorious**__ will be witnessed. You are a bio-android, and you hold the potential for that which evolution has failed to attain despite many millennia of trial and error.'_

_**Perfection.**_The excitement, the sheer longing to complete his destiny was almost painful. It drove him forward, making his four year incubation period both bearable and utter torture simultaneously. To burrow beneath the earth and wait, with nothing but his goal in mind, and nothing to distract from the onerously slow passing of time. It was not an appealing thought, but he was a patient creature. Who had he taken that from? Ah yes, Piccolo, the Namekian. A mere drop in the bucket that was his superior being.

Four years, give or take. Then the process of absorbing humans for their bio-extract. An annoying chore, which would be made even more troublesome by the existence of the Z-warriors. They would no doubt take exception to the unbiased slaughter of so many pathetic, inferior beings. He would gift them with the higher purpose of becoming one with his body, but there was very little chance of the pesky saiyans seeing it his way.

No matter. He was cunning, calculating and ruthless and nothing would stand before him and his destiny.

He was the catalyst, the beginning and the end.

And his name was Cell.

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A short distance away from the alien creature called Cell, a young girl sat beside a tree, sniffling to herself softly. Big hazel eyes swam with tears behind a taped together pair of thick rimmed glasses. Soft cheeks, with the baby-smooth glow of youth, were streaked with dirt and scrapes.

A small child, with awkward, skinny limbs, she cut an unimpressive figure in the forest. Her outfit was not one expected of a twelve year old girl, but rather that of a martial arts fighter - a pale blue gi tied with a brown belt and the traditional baggy fighting pants tightened around the ankles. Her feet were bare and her toes absently played with the leaves strewn over the ground. Her dirty blonde hair fell in a braid over her right shoulder, but it was wild and obviously disheveled to the point where a twig and leaf stuck out of her bangs.

Twelve year old Rin was trying her best not to cry. Her nose was runny, her body hurt and her eyes were wet, but she refused to let the tears fall. Anko had been particularly unpleasant that morning, upset about some criticism Kurama had given him. Rin had no idea why that was her fault, but apparently nothing more was needed then proximity to become a target. He had come up behind her and shoved her into the dirt path leading to the dojo, stepping on her hand as he walked past. It had been more the shock and the sheer _meanness_ then the pain that had driven her to run off.

As she usually did in times like these, she began listing all the things she had and loved.

"I've got Grandma Pat," She said, blushing at how loud and silly her voice sounded in the quiet forest, "I've got Grandpa Kurama. I've got my left-over desert from last night, if no-one's eaten it."

She perked up a bit at that, her love for all things sweet immediately lifting her mood. She wondered if her grandmother would let her put her leftovers and the upcoming supper's desert together to create a new desert combo. Occupied with thoughts of fudge brownies and caramel custard, she managed to shove the latest encounter with Anko to the back of her mind.

She jumped as a roar swept through the forest, followed by an alien screech. All thoughts of sweet things driven away, she stared wide-eyed into the forest. She recognised the roar as Big Claw, one of the meanest dinosaurs in the forest, but she couldn't place the other sound. Obviously the T-Rex had found himself a victim.

She winced as the screech came again, and she felt her heart wrench in pity. Whatever the other creature was, she felt incredibly sorry for it. It sounded so sad and…desperate.

Her mind suddenly made up, she leapt to her feet and darted into the underbrush, her course of direction changed. Big Claw was scary, and she trembled at the thought of facing him, but that screech was just too miserable to ignore. The T-Rex was just going to have to find himself another meal.

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Had that pitiful sound really come from him?

Cell staggered back from the large dinosaur that towered over him. Its jagged teeth dripped with saliva, and its dim-witted eyes glared down at him. The reptile had caught a whiff of his scent, and obviously disliked it as it had immediately charged him. Cell cursed the beast, rage and desperation making his movements jerky and unplanned.

'_I will not be defeated by some overgrown gecko!'_ He thought acidly.

He charged the beast, fully intending to bite whatever part of it he could reach and send it whimpering home.

His sharp beak pierced the dinosaurs reptilian skin, and he crunched his jaw down on its toe with all his strength. The tyrannosaurus roared in pain and wrenched its bleeding foot out of his grip, stumbling backwards. Cell quivered in anger, pink eyes staring evilly.

But the dino only seemed more incensed and as it shook its head with a snort that shook the earth, Cell prepared himself for an attack. He braced himself, refusing to give in to the panic and fear that enveloped him. Not the fear of death, but rather the horror of realising that he might never taste completion. He would die a literal shell of his intended self. No! He would not die – he who was destined for perfection!

The mere thought gave him strength, and even as heavy, clawed footsteps charged his way, he stared his attacker down; confident for reasons he couldn't explain. The dinosaur opened its disgusting maw, a row of teeth momentarily becoming all he could see.

Then, to his shock, a figure appeared in a flash of blue to his right, feet flashing quickly over the grass before launching into the air and kicking the tyrannosaurus in the side of the head. Cell might have gaped, for in that moment time seemed to slow. The dinosaurs head contorted strangely, a tiny human foot leaving a sizeable indentation in its skin. And then the human. Frozen for a moment, he took in the tiny stature of the newest arrival, as well as the wide, fearful look in her eyes.

The figure fell through the air and landed heavily on the ground in front of him. It was, he realised, a wild-looking child. Her legs wobbled from fall, but she managed to stay upright. Cell sensed power – barely acknowledgeable, even less than the weakest of the Z-warriors – but substantially larger than an average human.

Before he had time to react, the scrawny girl had rushed him, grubby little hands lifting his body right off the ground and holding him over her head.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry!" She exclaimed. And then she ran.

Cell's legs waved uselessly as the girl carried him through the trees, away from the angry dinosaur. Her little feet pitter-pattered with alarming speed, and his pink eyes widened comically every time she leapt over a fallen branch or some other obstacle.

The humiliating trip came to an end just as he managed to gain his senses back and begin forming a solid plan to KILL the little brat. She ducked around a tree, still holding him above her head, and peeked around nervously. The path behind them looked bedraggled, but silent. Cell raised his front paw, ready to swipe down and scratch her scalp off, but she evaded his attack by kneeling down and pushing him forward onto the ground. Cell scrambled away, turning with a murderous glare. He wanted to get a good look at just who had dared to lay hands on him.

She was small and skinny, with bare feet and a dirty face. Wild, tangled, dirty blonde – almost brown – hair was pulled into a messy braid, tied with a green bow. Shaggy bangs fell into her face, and she would occasionally blow them aside impatiently. She was dressed in ragged fighting gear. Most surprising, however, was the pair of scratch-ridden glasses perched on her nose. Behind them lay timid, but lively eyes that raked over him with childish curiosity. He glared back. He wasn't going to lose to a beast, and he sure as Kami wouldn't lose to a human brat.

There was a tense pause, where Cell wasn't entirely sure what she would do. He was fully prepared for an attack, and halfway excited by the thought of ripping her tiny body to shreds and feeding on her energy. He expected a scream, or a can of bug-spray – like the people from his timeline. He did not expect her to break into a shy grin and extend a small hand to rub his beak.

"Aww, look at you," She cooed, "You're so ugly!"

Cell's mouth fell open in shock. Wha- He would kill and absorb her, the filthy human! A growl ran through him, and the girl squeaked, quickly withdrawing her hand.

"Woah, sorry. Didn't mean to offend…" She frowned, "I meant it in a nice way."

His cat-like eyes narrowed disbelievingly. The girl cocked her head.

"You seem like you understand what I'm saying," She said thoughtfully, "What are you, exactly?"

His only response was silence as he contemplated how best to kill her. She had some power, and that would prove helpful in speeding up his growth if he could eat her bio-extract. It would be so easy to destroy her, even in his imperfect form. Kami, it would be easy to destroy her right now if he had his tail free. As it was, he would have to wait for a moment of weakness before he could strike.

"My name's Rin," She said with child-like innocence, "What's yours?"

'_I am your death, puny human,'_ He thought acidly.

"Don't have a name?" She asked, "I could give you one if you like."

'_No!'_ He was not a pet to be named by some human! Resigned, he forced the word out through his beak. It was difficult, though not impossible. His larval form wasn't really made for speech, but his name was one thing Cell knew he would always be able to voice.

"I've named most of the animals around here. You've already met Big-Claw, then there's Small-Claw, Spot, Bunny-tail - "

"_Cell,"_ The creature rasped, and she froze in counting the names off on her fingers.

"Cell?" She asked, "That's your name?"

Cell nodded.

"Oh wow! That's a very nice name. It suits you."

Hmph. Of course it suited him – it wasn't just his name, it was his _being_. At least the child seemed to have _some_ sense though.

"So where do you come from? I've never seen anything like you before. How did you get here? Are there more like you?" She gasped in excitement, and shuffled closer, "Do you have a family?"

Cell gazed at her blankly. The human spoke too much. With an inward snort, he turned and began moving away.

"Wait!" Rin cried, rising to her feet and running after the bug, "Cell, wait up!"

Cell firmly ignored her.

"This place is dangerous, you almost got eaten back there. Why don't you come with me, and I'll keep you safe and find us some food."

Cell gazed up at her in consideration. She had some power, and would probably be able to keep them safe from any larger predators. He was uncertain about her motives, but something in the way she nervously chewed her lip and absently played with the tip of her braid convinced him to trust her. She was nothing but a child, and a fairly dim-witted one at that. She couldn't possibly have anything dastardly up her sleeve. With a decisive nod, he spoke again, _"Lead…the way."_

She clapped her hands together and set off down a side path, her hands folded behind her back. Cell watched her carefully as he followed, eventually deciding that he would bide his time before killing her. She was somewhat powerful, and might prove to be useful in the long run. He had nothing but time, and with it, he could await the perfect opportunity to strike.

* * *

And that's chapter two folks. Not my favorite me thinks, but things will get more interesting from here. The real gold should come after our dear bio-android hatches ^^


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

* * *

Rin was nervous.

It had been two weeks since she had discovered the strange creature called Cell, and already she considered him a friend. He was freaky looking, and his eyes were a bit scary, but he listened to her and would occasionally speak, and that was enough.

Still, she couldn't quite shake the nerves that plagued her whenever she approached him. He watched her constantly, and her insecurities made not knowing his thoughts unbearable. Did he like her, or did he think she was a stupid weirdo like Anko did? Having never truly had a friend, Cell was new territory that she feared to explore.

Sitting beside him in a small clearing, surrounded by ferns and trees, she watched with fervent interest as he devoured the latest treat she had brought for him – sweet melons. She had noted that Cell would eat anything she provided to him, but she still wanted to find something like a favorite of his. Something that she could have on hand to make him like her better.

Her eyes lit up when Cell began gorging on the next melon enthusiastically. He usually took his time, chewing slowly with a lazy look in his eyes. Now, however, he seemed to be genuinely enjoying his meal. He had taken his time with the carrots, the baked potatoes, the fried chicken, the noodles and the various other left over foods that she had been able to take back to him after her meals at home. The fried chicken had been a frightening meal to watch – his beak had crunched right through the bones as if they were nothing, causing her to promptly choke on her own bone in surprise.

"So I guess you like sweet melons then?" She asked meekly, playing with a bit of grass she had pulled up. She watched Cell shyly from beneath her lashes and felt one again a small thrill when his eyes glanced at her for a brief moment before returning to his meal. The way he would look at her when she spoke, even if he hardly ever replied or acknowledged her in any other way, made her feel giddy. And every time he allowed her to pat his thick shell, or ate the food she placed in front of him, she couldn't help but swell with pride.

There was just something about him. Something mysterious. She had never before seen anything like him, and careful inquiries had revealed that he had no family. He seemed to be all alone in the world, something that she felt was incredibly sad. She often felt isolated and alone due to not having her parents around, but even she had her grandma and grandpa, even if they weren't actually related. The fact that Cell seemed to have no-one only hardened her resolve to take care of him. He wasn't pretty, but he was smart and he needed someone to look out for him. She was lonely and wanted someone to connect with. In her young mind, they were a perfect, if unlikely match.

She just wished she could know what he was thinking. Sometimes she caught him watching her, with an odd, almost hungry look in his eyes. Often he would appear annoyed, and she thought she had once seen him amused when she had almost choked to death on the chicken bone. There was no doubt that his thoughts were intricate and probably a lot more intelligent than hers. But even with the self-doubt and insecurities, she truly felt happier in his company, no matter how quiet and enigmatic he was.

And as usual when the silence began to build, she found herself babbling, "Ye-yeah, sweet melons are really great! They're sweet, salty, sour and soft. I'm not surprised you like them, I mean I do too. They're not my favorite fruit though; I think those would be peaches. Grandma makes these really great peach pies, with cream frosting and cinnamon. They're delicious! So, um, next time she makes I'll save you a slice so you can see for yourself."

Cell shot her another look, and this time she was sure that she detected annoyance. He didn't seem to like it when she spoke too much, but Rin couldn't help herself. '_At least_,' she consoled, '_he'll get to know me. And I'm sure once he knows me he'll like me and he wont mind so much if I talk.'_

She didn't consider herself particularly likeable, but she couldn't imagine why Cell would be annoyed by her once he realized that she was just being friendly and trying to take care of him.

"I told grandma that I made a friend," She said timidly, "She told me to be careful 'cause forest creatures can be dangerous." She blinked up at him, muddy green eyes filled with worried concern, "But you're not dangerous, are you Cell?"

_'What a ridiculous question...'_

Cell stared balefully at the human, and didn't dignify her with a response. He had decided, though every so often he reconsidered, to leave the girl alive until he had evolved out of his larval state. His reasoning was fairly sound: One, the girl was proving useful. She provided him with sustenance and seemed to have the power to keep predators at bay. Two, that same power would make her difficult to defeat unless he attacked her while she slept, which she did in his presence with alarming frequency. Three, she was still a child, which meant that her power would undoubtedly grow, though by how much he wasn't sure. Still, once he had evolved to his imperfect form, she would be easy to destroy and by then she would have developed even more power for him to absorb.

Her odd desire to 'befriend' him was ever so convenient, though he found it ridiculously irritating at times. It allowed him to keep an eye on her development. An uninvited consequence, however, was that he was slowly getting to know the girl. Through their one-sided conversations he sometimes thought he had heard more from her than he had from Dr. Gero's recordings. She was cowardly, and shrank away from confrontation at all costs, but she seemed willing to be brave for others, if not for herself. To his chagrin, her meek personality didn't stop her from being talkative - she was shy and awkward, but not antisocial. She felt lonely and a byproduct of this seemed to be her urge to care for him, fueled by her desire to feel needed. Her entire personality, it seemed, was made of flaws, and it was this that annoyed him the most. She was also underdeveloped physically, with a naturally small stature and eyes that were practically blind without her external glass optics. How such a borderline useless person was allowed to come into being was beyond him.

She only served to harden his resolve - he had been created to wipe out flawed creatures such as her, until only perfection remained.

Apparently unfazed by his silence she gave a soft sigh, "Mmm, I told her that you're too lazy to be dangerous."

Cell rolled his eyes, swallowing the last bit of melon. He was lazy because he was supposed to be hibernating. However, he realized that the food she was providing him was boosting his energy. It might not necessarily speed up his growth, but when he finally did hatch, he wouldn't be lethargic or weak. Besides, the food wasn't bad, even if the company was annoying.

* * *

Two months after Cell had met the human pest named Rin, he found himself beside a stream, watching said pest splash about in the water. She had stripped herself completely of all her clothes, as if modesty was a concept that had not even occurred to her. Cell was surprised - he would have expected someone of her shy nature to be extremely reluctant to run around in the buff, but that was exactly what she was doing. Had her grandparents taught her no decency?

The stream came up to her chest, and wasn't particularly strong. The water was crystal clear, revealing smooth pebbles underneath it. They sparkled brightly in the morning sun, hurting his sensitive eyes. He glared accusingly at the discarded training gear and pair of glasses that she had left under his care, treating him as if he were some concerned companion.

"Cell, watch this!" She called up at him, before ducking under the water for a brief moment. Cell narrowed his eyes, wandering exactly what the little terror was planning. She resurfaced, cheeks puffed out comically, before releasing a smooth jet of water from her mouth, "Hehe! Did you watch? It was pretty, wasn't it!"

Laughing loudly, she danced around, diving under the water and resurfacing with dramatic gasps. She behaved as if she had no care in the world, something which bothered him immensely. He had much preferred it when she had gazed upon him with uncertain eyes and nervous fidgeting - at least that he could translate into a form of fear, which left him feeling somewhat appeased. But this - this playful, no-worries attitude...it was unacceptable. Somehow she had found a way to become completely comfortable in his presence. He supposed it wasn't so bad. She had sought him out as a friend, and since he hadn't rejected her so far she had lost some of her worries. It wouldn't be worth his time to instill the proper fear and respect into her now. It would only drive her away, and the way she so openly let her guard down around him was amusing and would prove to be useful when he returned to his imperfect form.

So he watched her for the rest of the morning, even going so far as to place a restraining foot on her knickers when a breeze threatened to blow them away. Immediately repulsed, he nudged a rock onto the offending article, reasoning that while he had no desire to touch her undergarments, he also had no desire to see her run around without them. He preferred human's clothed. Her tiny, scrawny little body seemed so pathetic without them. How she could possibly hold any energy in that inadequate container of a shell was beyond him.

Rin, for her part, enjoyed her swimming with the kind of joy that only a child playing around in warm water on a perfect day could feel. It honestly had not occurred to her to be ashamed of her nakedness. She had often wandered her home nude as a youngster, and her grandma had never gone into particular detail about why modesty was important. It seemed to be a subject that the old woman felt uncomfortable broaching, and her grandfather had always asserted that back in his day, children hardly ever wore clothes and they came out tougher for it.

The fact that she had Cell with her only served to make a perfect day even better. His large form hovered protectively over her clothes, though it was nothing but a large green blur without her glasses. Her grandma had given her a fat picnic basket to take with her, to eat with her 'mystery forest friend', and she had given Cell his share already. As the morning wore on, she could feel herself developing a killer appetite, and she emerged from the stream with a happily flushed face and wrinkled skin. Retrieving her glasses, she shook herself like a dog before sneezing softly.

"Boy, I'm hungry!" she grinned, plopping down with a wet splat beside Cell on one of the large rocks by the stream, waiting for the warm sun to dry her before she put her clothes back on. Dragging the pink picnic basket towards her, she withdrew a bacon and egg sandwich, munching as her little heart sang. Cell stared off into the distance, seemingly uninterested in her company. But he was there, and that was all she needed.

* * *

"You're getting bigger." Rin stated, smiling at him, "If you get any fatter, you'll pop!"

_"That is the plan," _Cell hissed, his anger prompting him to speak. Rin blinked in surprise.

"Really? Oh, I get it! You're like an egg! No, wait – a cocoon!" She grinned, "You do look a bit like a caterpillar."

Seven months. Seven months with the little pest, and she still had the power to piss him off.

* * *

"Young lady, where do you think you're going?"

Rin stiffened, turning to face her grandma with a sheepish smile, inwardly wishing she had made a hastier exit, "I was gonna go play with Cell, Granny." She responded, fidgeting with her belt. She stood in the doorway of their quaint kitchen, giving her grandma her best puppy dog look over the table. Patty, a short, stout woman with soft eyes and a softer smile looked for all the world like a cat ready to pounce on a mouse.

"Rin, you're fourteen. You're too old to be running around with some animal - who, by the way, I know you've been feeding behind my back."

Rin winced, lowering her head with a sigh. She had been feeding Cell for over a year now, and while her grandma often gave her food to give him, she just didn't understand how big he was getting. There was no way it would be enough for him, so she had to resort to taking from their private stores. She felt a stab of resentment on hearing Cell get called 'some animal', but she knew that her grandma was not to blame. No-one but her had ever seen Cell, and she wanted to keep it that way. He was her friend, her own special secret. And she doubted anyone else would accept him, strange as he was, especially not now that he was growing.

"I'm sorry, I know I stole...but he really needs the food. And he's my best friend, not just some animal."

Her grandma sighed, "Sweetie, I know you get lonely up here in the mountains. Maybe its time we put you into a real school, hmm? Where you can meet people your own age and make _human_ friends?"

"N-no!" She cried, eyes widening in horror, "Granny, please don't do that! I don't wanna leave you guys! And Cell is just as good a friend as anybody else ever could be, I promise."

Patty seemed unconvinced, but with a gentle smile she nodded nonetheless, "I understand. Just know that if you ever feel like you need to get away to somewhere where you can meet new people, your grandpa and I will help you."

Rin heard a scoff from behind her and stepped aside to allow Kurama entrance to the kitchen, "She doesn't need any of that high society rubbish Patricia," the old man said derisively, "The mountains make people tough instead of teaching young girls to run around chasing boys and wearing make-up. Aint that right, Rin?" He turned a single eye to his granddaughter, glaring her into agreement. She nodded weakly.

"Yes grandpa."

Patty placed a warm hand on her husbands arm, smiling fondly. Kurama was a firm believer in the teachings of the wild, and it was one of the reasons she had married him. As a young man he had been the kind to dash through trees and wrestle bears. Now he taught the martial arts with the same vigor, and some of his beliefs became a bit over the top.

"Of course, dear," she said to him, "But now our girl is running around chasing forest animals and wearing old, worn out training clothes instead."

"Forest animals?" Kurama grunted, "You mean that Cell she keeps talking about?"

Rin flushed, wringing her hands nervously. She felt the need to defend Cell combating her desperate desire to avoid any confrontation with her grandparents. Eventually, defense won. "Cell's my friend and he's not just a regular animal."

Kurama shrugged, walking over to the cupboard and pulling out a box of cereal, "I had plenty of animal friends as a lad. There's nothing wrong with it. And she gets to see people when she trains."

Patty still seemed unsatisfied, but Rin recognized that she would let the issue rest while her grandpa was around. Spotting her escape opportunity, she grabbed a banana from the fruit basket and hurried out, tossing, "Bye Grandma, bye Grandpa!" over her shoulder. The old couple shared a look as their adopted child scurried away.

"She gets it from you," Patty smirked. Kurama gave her a lazy-eyed glance as he took a seat, pouring fiber cereal into a bowl.

"Hmmm? Just like she gets her shyness from you?"

Patty blushed.

* * *

"So you carry the two and divide by four, then that would have to make X...fourteen?" Rin slumped over, forehead smacking into the grass, "I don't know..." she groaned, voice muffled.

Cell watched with a smirk as she attempted to understand her petty equations. Apparently the human stereotype of bad vision equaling intelligence had eluded her. She lay on her stomach, her legs swinging in the air behind her, sunlight causing her papers to shine blindingly white. They spent a lot of time in this particular meadow, where grazing creatures kept the grass short and the light was plentiful. Rin was also exceptionally fond of the flowers that grew there, often taking the liberty of decorating his body with the offensive plants.

Cell placed his front foot over her math book, eyes narrowing over the equation, instantly feeling the urge to correct her mistakes. Mathematics was a beautiful thing, and she seemed to be going out of her way to butcher it. She peeked up at him through a curtain of hair, brow furrowed in frustration.

_"The answer is thirty-six,"_ He told her. She blinked up at him, frozen for a moment, before scrambling up and leaning over the book with him, frantically scanning the page.

"Wha...Oh, I get it! You multiply, not divide! I forgot to change it when I crossed over the equals sign." big eyes, alight with admiration now focused on him, "Oh my gosh, Cell. I didn't know you could do math," she swatted him playfully, "And to think I've been struggling for two years already, when I've had my own genius friend right here."

He firmly squashed down the warm feeling of gratification that washed over him at the sight of her awed smile. He didn't care about her opinion of him, and she was in any case far too easily impressed.

* * *

Cell stared at the girl out of the corner of his eye. She sat hunched over, her back to him. Several bruises had appeared on her body. It wasn't unusual for her to come to him with injuries, and he had always assumed that she simply didn't know how to handle herself in the forest. But this was…different somehow.

In the two and a half years that he had known her, he had never seen her go truly silent. He enjoyed the peace, but the irritation of not knowing was beginning to gnaw at him, and it didn't seem like she was going to be making any move to explain herself.

_'Tch. How absurd, I actually want the brat to speak. Perhaps it is about time I get rid of her.'_

Fed up with being confused, he lumbered up to her, nudging her shoulder with his beak, _"Rin,"_ He growled, and the girl gasped, turning to him, their noses almost touching. Her eyes widened in surprise, before tears suddenly sprung up and she threw her arms around him.

"Oh Cell, I'm so glad you're here," She blubbered, her grip so firm that she didn't even notice his reflexive jerk, "It was horrible, they were all there hitting me again and again just because I beat Anko in a spar! And I was so pathetic, I didn't even try to stop them, I just cried like a baby and now I'm crying even more!"

Cell felt his eye twitch and his claws dug into the earth. She had often leaned her fleshy body against him, but this blatant attack on his person was not to be tolerated. He growled lowly before nipping at her arm, drawing blood.

"Ow!" She cried, drawing back from him and holding her arm. Cell glared, uncertain of what her next move would be. She might turn hostile and attack him, but from what he understood of her personality, she was more likely to run away and never return. If that was the case, he would have to move quickly and kill her before she got away. He waited on edge for her next move.

Her face contorted into one of sorrow, and more tears fell down her face. She sniffed in an undignified manner before wiping her nose on her arm.

_'Disgusting…'_ Cell thought.

"I'm sorry, Cell," She said through another wave of tears, "You were just being nice and I got all pushy. I didn't mean to invade your space…Please forgive me!"

_'I bit her and she's apologizing? What a push-over. No wonder she gets attacked. She is far too weak. She deserves every ounce of pain.'_

He snorted, turning away and licking his beak. Her blood tasted bitter and metallic, and frankly unpleasant after all the sweet fruits she had been feeding him. He lay down, and pretended not to notice when she gingerly curled up beside him.

* * *

Rin dashed between the trees, heart racing and blood laced with fear. Adrenaline forced her forward, her glasses bouncing over her nose with every step. She felt her muscles strain, and tears forming in her eyes.

_'I'm not gonna get there fast enough!' _

The sound of Cell's far off screech nearly broke her heart in two. Releasing a heavy sob, she hastened her speed, now nothing more than a blur flashing over the ground. Every leap caused her muscles to scream in agony. She ignored the pain, unable to even give it a moments notice while she considered the danger her best friend was in. Bursting through the thicket, she gasped in horror when she spotted the five boys surrounding him, and the scorch marks over his skin.

"Leave him alone!" She screamed, her voice cracking with the intensity of it, running forward and tackling Anko to the ground. The boys all yelled out in surprise, and she wrestled with him for a few moments, attempting to pin him to the ground. She cried out when someone grabbed her under the arms, yanking her off of the enraged Anko. Struggling furiously, all she saw was a scowl before a fist punched her ruthlessly in the face. Her glasses shattered immediately and her vision blurred. She couldn't see a thing.

"Cell!" She choked on the scream as someone kicked her in the stomach. She heard him screech again and saw the boys charging up their own energy attacks, "No! Stop it! Leave him alone!"

"So this is what you've been up to this whole time, sneaking into the forest with food!" She whimpered as someone pulled her hair, "Hanging out with this freak of nature!"

"Don't touch him!" she growled, surprising herself.

"Oh now you grow a backbone?" Anko sneered, "What happened to the little brat who cries like a stupid baby? You think you're better than me, just because sensei has time to teach you more? You're nothing, you hear!"

"I don't care about any of that!" She spat at him, teeth bared, "Just leave us alone, you bully!"

"Bully? This is _nothing_, you twerp, compared to what I get when I go home and have to tell my dad that a midget sixteen year old_ girl_ beat me _again!_"

She froze in shock, "W-what?"

"Forget it. I think we should see how this thing responds to our Mongoose Mania, huh boys?" Suddenly panicked, Rin lashed out blindly, her nails scraping against his face, "You little freak!"

Rin staggered as she was thrown, and felt herself land on something hard and scaly. She looked up to see Cell's pink eyes narrowed in anger, "No…" She whispered, tears in her eyes.

"You know what, Mole-Face? You can have a taste of the Mongoose Mania too. I know sensei's been trying to teach it to you for a while now. Let's see how well you learn with an example!"

She felt her heart lurch at the blurry image of several pale balls of light blasting towards her and Cell. She had to...protect...him. She clenched her fists, teeth bared in rage before throwing her hands out and unleashing her own energy blast, "I said **_STOOOOPPP!"_**

Cell's eyes widened as he looked down at Rin. Her power lurched, and a wall of light exploded from her hand, meeting the others' attacks head on, easily batting them away. The boys screamed as the air in front of them exploded. They flew backwards, slamming into trees and falling to the floor with groans.

"F-freak!" One of them screamed.

"Let's get out of here!"

"We won't forget this!"

"This isn't over, Mole-Face," Anko hissed.

And a moment later, they were gone.

Dumbfounded, Cell watched the sixteen year old slump over, panting heavily at his feet. Her energy had been completely drained by her attack. One of her hands reached out to touch his front paw, as if reassuring herself that he was still there. He watched her sigh in relief, and then pass out.

Cell watched her breath heavily, thoroughly pleased by a discovery he had made: Rin was getting stronger. In the past three and a half years she had steadily improved in strength, and her little outburst had just proved it. And she would improve more in the next year, until finally, when he was ready to hatch, he would absorb her and take all the energy he had been watching her build for himself.

_'Hehehe…Well done, my dear. Keep up the good work for me.'_

* * *

"Ce-_ell!_"

Cell rolled his eyes as Rin sang out, cartwheeling up to him, "You'll never guess what!"

Thoroughly unexcited, _"__Do tell..."_

She clapped her hands together, grin lighting up her whole face, "The World Martial Arts Tournament! I'm entering!"

_"The **what?**" _He snapped. Rin couldn't leave...not now! Not when he was literally days from hatching!

"The World Martial Arts Tournament! It's a tournament where all the best fighters in the world compete to be titled champion, and grandpa says since I'm turning seventeen soon, I can enter!" She clapped her hands together in excitement, "The preliminaries are being held in Ginger town, and if I get through, then in a couple of months I'll be traveling to East City!"

Cell dug his claws into the earth, rage washing over him. Over four years he had spent with her, and now she was leaving _just_ as he was about - no, he would not allow it. He had grown substantially more than she had over the time they had known each other, and he felt fairly confident that he could over-power her. She wouldn't even know what had hit her. He began to inch his way forward, white hot anger buzzing over whatever she was blabbering on about - something about how Ginger Town would be cold this time of year yada, yada. Muscles tensed, he prepared to strike...

"Oh, and Anko is gonna be there too..." Cell paused. Anko, he had learned via Rin, lived in an abusive household and when Kurama had learned as such and attempted to intervene, the boy had been transferred to the Crane School of Martial Arts. Cell had often dreamed of the day he would be able to absorb the cretin. But... he would also enjoy the opportunity to watch Rin defeat him.

"I'm leaving in three days, and I should be gone for about a week. Grandpa doesn't want to leave grandma alone, so I'm gonna be in a big town all by myself for the first time!" She did another cartwheel, coming up with a flushed face, "I'm excited and scared at the same time."

Suddenly frowning, she approached his now relaxed form, crouching down and rubbing his beak, "I-uh-hope you'll be okay without me. I don't exactly think we'll be able to fit you in the car, so you'll have to stay here. I'll organize for grandma to leave you some food by the broken tree every day."

Cell smirked, _"Well then, good luck my dear."_

* * *

_Phewph. _It feels good to be done with that. Sorry for the wait. I have reasons...but, blegh, you probably wouldn't care to hear them.

So, as you've probably realized by now, Rin is not your typical Dbz female character, original or canon. It occurred to me that every. Single. One. Of the Dbz girls are feisty or bitchy or whatever. I mean, look at them: Bulma, Chi Chi, 18, Videl, Bulla, Marron, Pan, Launch... all of them have these no-nonsense 'Imma beat yo ass up' attitudes. Even female OC's for DBZ follow that same trend. They've all got cocky, witty, badass personalities or something like that. Now don't get me wrong, I freaking love every single Dbz character. They all give me warm and fuzzy feels. It goes like this: Vegeta and Cell tied for first place, and _everyone_ else in the show tied for second. But I don't want to create another generic dbz female.

So Rin is not going to be feisty, or witty, or hardcore, or strong. She's funloving, a bit of a goofball, a bit of a coward and very caring. I hope you wont get bored of her or label her a weak person or anything, but I thought I'd give you a heads up. If I had to relate her to anyone on the show...it would probably be Gohan before Piccolo got hold of him, without the studious attitude.

Hope you enjoyed. Things should get interesting from here. If you've spotted any typos or whatnot, feel free to point them out.


	4. Chapter 4

I apologize for any spelling mistakes in here...I tribute that to the fact that I am incredibly lazy...and I wrote most of this on the site, and some of it on word doc. South African spelling and internet spelling are different. For example flavor vs. flavour. We add the 'u', but sometimes it gets edited out...so, excuse me for any inconsistencies, as well as for any disappointment upon reading this.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

"I wish I could stay to watch…" Kurama muttered as he helped his granddaughter unload her luggage from the trunk of their ancient hover-car. The vehicle had spluttered in protest the whole ride over, and now hung in the air impatiently. They were parked just outside the hotel reserved for the martial arts competitors, and two bald men in orange yukatas waited with on either side of the front gate, benign smiles on their fat faces. Rin gave her grandpa a grin, giving his arm an affectionate squeeze.

"It's okay, Grandpa," She said reassuringly, "It's just the preliminaries anyway. This was short notice, so I completely understand. If I get through to the tournament we can make arrangements then, 'kay?"

Kurama grumbled quietly for a moment as he unloaded the last bag, before straightening up and pulling her into a tight embrace. Rin was shocked for a moment before hugging him back just as tightly. When he drew back she pretended not to notice the slight glistening of his eyes, instead opting to stare shyly down at her feet, bare as usual.

"You sure you're alright to take this stuff up yourself?" He asked, gesturing to the small pile.

"Yeah, no worries. I'll see if there isn't a place to find a capsule around here later, but for now it's no problem for me to carry."

"That's my girl. You'll give the competition hell for me, won't you?"

"Grandpa!" She exclaimed with good-natured exasperation, before smiling, "I'll do my best."

Kurama nodded and gave her a pat on the shoulder before getting into the car, winding down the window to say his last goodbyes.

"Send grandma my love!" She called as he pulled away, the car choking on fumes until it rounded a corner and disappeared. Rin ceased her enthusiastic waving and turned to face the rotund man that shuffled over to her.

"If you'll gather your things and follow me please, I can take you to your rooms and begin the tour of the grounds." He said mildly, before turning away. Rin hoisted her bags into her arms and trotted after him, barely able to keep her grin off her face.

She thought of Cell and her heart swelled affectionately. She would have to bring him back a souvenir.

* * *

Cell stepped out of his shell, limbs still covered in what he had sensitively dubbed 'evolutionary excess fluids'. He smirked wickedly as he felt the power pulsing within him, courtesy of Rin's constant nurture. The first time he had emerged from his shell, he had been fatigued and barely capable of flight. Now his body felt rejuvenated, as if he had taken a long, restful nap.

He looked around him, taking in the quiet forest scene that had been his home for the past four and a half years. His empty larval form lay like a scar on the earth, where it would remain for several years before decomposing. The trees around him continued their usual whispering, though the poet inside him couldn't help but relish in the way they seemed to shrink back, their usually banal chatter turning into a chorus of anxious musings. The birds in contrast, which had become used to his presence, were now silent.

He chuckled, he might actually miss this place. Turning his gaze to the sky, he felt the thrill of the hunt, excitement coursing through his veins. His children were out there somewhere, no doubt enjoying their frolicking with the inhabitants of the planet, waiting to be re-united with him. But first…

"I've got a tournament to watch," He murmured, launching himself into the air, careful to keep his powerlevel undetectable. Rin would have the pleasure of defeating her competition – for he had no doubt that she would make it through the preliminaries – and then, whilst she was in a haze of triumph and joy, she. Would. Be. His.

* * *

"And this is your room," the soft spoken tour guide stopped outside a wooden shoji sliding door. They stood on a courtyard balcony overlooking a beautiful Japanese garden. She could hear the sound of running water from the series of small green pools and the splashing of koi fish. Carved bamboo wind chimes hung just outside her door, clonking together in a soothing melody of sound. A large cherry blossom tree rose from below, wafting the scent of sakura towards them. She let out a small sigh of pure bliss.

The guide fumbled with a ring of keys before finding the correct one and unlocking her door. He slid it open, bowing her inside like a gentleman and she entered her courters with wide, fascinated eyes. The room was simply decorated with dark, sensual woods and typical eastern furniture, complete with tatami mats and low riding tables and chairs. She padded to her left, edging open yet another sliding door and peering into what she assumed was her room, judging by the elevated futon. The guide shuffled around some shelves in the room behind her before approaching her, a spare key in hand.

"I hope everything is to your satisfaction, miss," He said, handing over the key with yet another bow.

"Are you kidding me?" She exclaimed, jumping forward and pulling the round man into a hug, "This is amazing! How on earth did my grandpa afford all of this?"

Once the guide had extricated himself from Rin's grasp, a slight blush on his face, he cleared his throat, "We provide only the best for the star pupils of former champions."

"My grandpa was a champion?" She whispered, awed, "But…how?"

"Before Master Roshi, hermit of the Turtle, Master Kurama of the Mongoose was the World's Martial Arts Champion."

Rin felt her head spin in sheer disbelief. How had no-one ever told her? Her grandma had never said a peep. Had they not wanted to place any pressure on her? She clenched her fists – well the pressure was on now. There was no way she could let her grandpa down!

"The preliminary rounds start in five hours. You have the option of joining the buffet downstairs, or enjoying an afternoon of restful cleansing in your personal bathing chambers. Be present at the arena by 02h00, and please enjoy your stay."

"Thank you, I will!"

The guide left and Rin spent the next few minutes exploring her courters. Her bedroom had a sliding door leading into the bathroom, where a wooden dais held the deep bathtub.

Thoroughly satisfied, she skipped outside, fully intent on enjoying the buffet.

* * *

Cell watched her leave from his crouched position on the roof, smirking at the way she hummed to herself. His eyes were drawn to the back of her pale neck, a perfect target, and his tail swayed impatiently.

"Soon," He whispered, waiting until she had gone out of sight before dropping down in front of her door. The naïve child hadn't even bothered to lock up, not that it would have mattered, but… "Foolish Rin…Don't you know that monsters take unlocked doors as an invitation? And I believe I'll be accepting mine."

He entered, looking around at the luggage strewn over the floor. Rin was a haphazard creature, he knew, and she cared little for being neat or organised, a trait that never failed to annoy him. His eye twitched even now as he resisted the urge to straighten up her things. He would wait here until he sensed her coming, at which point he would hide wait on the roof until she made her way to the arena. Cell was a master of stealth, and this place was as good as any to hide in. Her scent was also pleasing, in a way, familiar in comparison to the myriad of smells that attacked his senses in the town. She had a simple, human smell. Earth and grass, with a hint of sweetness that clung to her skin, most likely a product of her sweat.

Settling down in the corner, crossing his legs and arms, Cell focused on Rin's energy, some way to the left below him. He allowed his enhanced hearing to focus on her, and slipped into a meditative state, concentrating on the sound of her voice.

* * *

Cell watched Rin defeat yet another ego-driven excuse of a fighter, and give a polite bow to the likely concussed man. He was crouched, hidden in the shadows of a large tree leaning over the arena. He camouflaged perfectly with the dark leaves, his tail draped lazily over the branch behind him. He had been there for over three hours, watching Rin carve through fighters with grace and simplicity. She wasn't a showy fighter, preferring to win as quickly and easily as possible, creating the impression that half of her battles had been won by pure luck. Cell knew better. He knew that she studied her opponent, calculating their weaknesses with a speed that almost impressed him. He had never had the opportunity to see Rin in her natural element - her awkward limbs seemed to suddenly find the correct stance, her nervous eyes narrowed in quiet thought. In the ring she had all the carefree spirit he witnessed when she played in the fields, or splashed in the rivers, and yet she contained herself effortlessly, patiently.

He smirked as yet another fighter stepped in to face her. He was tall and lithe, and one of the few who had enough brains to see the tiny young woman as a threat. He circled her quietly, seemingly ignoring the catcalls and jeering of the crowd around him. Rin watched him with a slight smile, and Cell saw the moment she picked up on the way the fighter favoured his right side. If he had to judge, he'd say a childhood injury had crippled his left ankle, and from the way her clever eyes darted down to glance at the foot, he'd say she agreed with him. The match was over in seconds as Rin darted to her opponent's right, causing him to lunge, before quickly ducking under him and rolling to her left. The fighter's ankle struggled with the change in direction, and before he had time to adjust, Rin had fallen back onto one hand and swung her leg around, sweeping the fighter's legs out from under him. He fell onto his side, and from there it was a quick affair to kick him out the ring.

The crowd cheered, and Rin gave yet another sweet bow. The fighter got to his feet, shook his head in a self-deprecating manner and returned the bow before skulking off. Cell chuckled quietly as Rin stepped out of the ring, clearly advancing to the next stage. It was a pity she would be dead before she could compete in the real championship - he had a feeling she had a good chance of winning. But, alas, he couldn't put his plans on hold for one little human. And she had led him to a veritable feast, filled with some of the strongest humans on Earth. Of course, most of them weren't even half as powerful as her...Which was exactly why he would be absorbing her along with them.

* * *

Cell slipped into her room with ease, towering over her sleeping form. She lay curled up on her side, snoring softly. Her glasses were folded on the table beside her. She looked so young without them. The tip of his needle-like tail slowly drew the blanket down, revealing her in her pyjamas, before it caressed the soft skin on her collar bone longingly. He hadn't known that his hunger would grow so strong so soon. It would be so easy to crouch down, covering her face with his hand to muffle the scream before piercing her skin and...

He sighed. It wouldn't do to kill her in a fit of impatience. He wanted to savour her, as he had planned for so many years. He cocked his head as she mumbled something in her sleep before rolling over, one small fist coming to wrap around the needle-tip, clearly annoyed by the tickling sensation it had caused. She tucked it into her chest before sniffing and falling back into her dreams.

Perhaps he would find somebody else in town, somebody less significant, just to sate his hunger. With a smirk he gently extricated himself from Rin's grasp and turned, leaping from the window in search of a meal.

* * *

Cell returned to Rin's room, over eight hours later, just as the sun was beginning to rise. What had begun as 'a quick meal' had turned into a killing spree the likes of which he had never before experienced. In the times of the Terror Twins, he had only ever been able to target ten to twenty humans at a time.

He was fairly certain he had killed every last soul in Ginger Town, with the exception of the oblivious girl in bed before him. He felt...exhilarated, completely and utterly invincible. There had been thousands of them, and with each victim he had felt his power increase. He had intended to only kill a few of the competitors that Rin had already defeated, but the power had been so intoxicating that soon he was going from room to room, stealthily absorbing every occupant, even the wretched Anko. Then he had left the Arena, and made his way steadily through the whole town, absorbing humans in their sleep- men, woman, children, even some of the noisier animals. Some of them he found dancing in smoke filled rooms, filled with scantily-clad females staggering around on impractical footwear and men with hands committing vulgar acts. He killed them all, their screams passed off as nothing but a raucous night.

By morning, he found himself disposing of the self-proclaimed 'richest man in Ginger Town'. Hah. His wealth couldn't save him.

His breathing came in heavy growls as he made his way back to Rin. And as he stared at her now, sprawled over her futon, his beak curved into a malicious grin. So he hadn't had the opportunity to watch her defeat her childhood nemesis, but he was now fairly certain that he didn't care. He had her all to himself, and nobody was around to get in the way.

"Rin," he called, taking a metallic step towards her. She twitched in her sleep and made a slight noise of discontent, "Wake up, Rin."

Rin's eyes blinked open slowly, immediately noticing the blurry green figure that hovered over her bed. She let out a shriek before darting up, her hand scrabbling for her glasses. The figure made no move as she shoved them onto her face, and she sat breathing heavily in fright as her eyes widened on the creature towering in the corner of the room.

It was over eight feet tall, forced it bow its head against the roof. In the dim morning light, she could see the mottled spots covering its dark emerald skin, interrupted by sections of orange and black. A pair of emerald wings adorned its back. Two cat-like pink eyes stared down at her from an angular green face sporting an orifice-like mouth. Two sections on its head spread out into a dramatic V-shape on its head that she recognized all too well.

"C-Cell?" she whispered, slowly, leaning forward onto her knees as her breathing calmed. There was absolutely no mistaking him. "Cell!"

The creatures eyes widened slightly in surprise as she scrabbled to her feet, nearly slipping on the blankets in her haste to get to him. Her miniscule 5 feet of height forced her to crane her neck to look up at him, and tears sprung into her eyes as her face split into a blinding smile.

"Oh wow, look at you!" she cried, her hand reaching out to touch his chest, as though afraid he would disappear and she would realize that she was dreaming. She didn't notice the imperceptible flinch that her gentle touch elicited in him, and her palm splayed over the odd diamond-shaped black section on his abdomen, "I...I can't believe it," She whispered, "You're all grown up, and I didn't even get to see it."

She turned her head away to hide an embarrassing sniffle. Cell, her best friend, had turned into the magnificent creature before her and then actually taken the time to seek her out. She felt a glow of happiness envelope her. He was almost human-looking now, standing on two arms and legs. She ran her hand over the smooth, marble-like exoskeleton on his arm, picking up the clawed hand that hung at his side, turning it over in awe when he offered no resistance. Five fingers, covered in leathery skin and tipped in sharp black nails. She gazed at him in fascination, marvelling at how his large hands dwarfed her own. He was an actual person now, just like she'd always told everyone. He wasn't just some bug like people had mocked. She felt like she was sure all mothers felt when their babies were born - every tiny detail was precious and incredible.

Cell watched her examine him, awe and fascination clear in her shining eyes. He couldn't give a name to the feeling her touch elicited, but he might settle for disgust. Her soft skin caressed him in a way that unsettled him deeply, making him feel almost ill. He felt frozen under her scrutiny, like a moth under a magnifying glass. His hand twitched in her grasp, and he wandered absently why he hadn't ripped himself away. Her palm had frozen him when it first landed on his chest, her small fingers forcing him to curb his animosity lest he blast her into ash.

He blinked in shock when she let out a tiny giggle, releasing his hand and dropping to her haunches at his feet, "Look! You've only got three toes!"

She poked them with another laugh.

"I'm glad you find my anatomy amusing." She looked up at him before rising back up to her feet and reaching up to place her hands on his shoulders, a wide grin on her face, a lone tear falling down her cheek.

"I'm not mocking you! You -" She could contain herself no longer and wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace, clearly oblivious to the way he stiffened, "You're absolutely perfect, Cell!"

_Perfect._

_'You're absolutely perfect, Cell!'_

_'Absolutely_ perfect!'

He hissed then, eyes narrowing in fury, and pushed her away. She staggered back, confused, and yelped when he lunged forward, grabbed her around the waist and picked her up, holding her under her arm at his side. He was so tall that her arms and legs dangled, not touching the ground.

"Cell?" She asked nervously.

"Quiet," He snapped at her. Her pathetic, foolish words had forced him out of whatever trance she had placed on him. Absolutely perfect? What an imbecile! How stupid was she? Could she honestly not sense that he was a threat? Had she not heard the screams of the people as he'd killed them, one by one, saving her for last? He would show her, let her see the ruined city. Force her to understand what her generosity had unleashed on her planet, educate her on the nature of perfection and then kill her while she screamed in terror.

He hated the sensation of her warm human flesh pressed against his side. He hated the feeling of her pulse, which he could sense instinctively. He hated the momentary sense of gratification he had experienced at being called perfect. He hated her, with more loathing then he had thought he could possibly feel. He thought he might crush her right there, he was so overwhelmed with emotion.

_'You're absolutely perfect, Cell!'_

Stupid, infuriating girl.

"Wait, I don't think you should let anybody see you!" She exclaimed as he made his way towards the window, "They might want to hurt you…"

"Concerned for my well-being, as usual," Cell smirked, "But this time, you needn't worry."

He stepped onto the balcony, easily leaping over the edge and into the street. Rin gave a small squeak when they landed, latching onto his leg before glancing around curiously.

"Woah. What's with all the clothes?"

The street they stood on was empty and desolate; a few cars in the street had seemingly just _stopped_. There was absolute silence, with nothing but the rustle of a cat in a garbage bin, and the wind blowing through the trees eerily. Articles of clothing were strewn over the sidewalk and caught in bushes.

Cell grinned. Now it would begin, "Their owners are dead."

"Eh?" She wriggled uncomfortably in his grasp, and he watched, amused, as her short limbs kicked uselessly, "What do you mean they're dead?"

"I killed them." He breathed, the words sweet on his tongue.

Rin stiffened, "That's not funny, Cell."

Cell laughed out loud at that, "On the contrary, my dear Rin, I find it plenty amusing."

"This really isn't joking material."

"I find it amusing, but it is no joke. I killed every human in this town," He waved his tail under her nose, and he could almost feel her eyes widen, "I sucked out their bio-extract. They are now part of me."

He could feel her trembling now, "P-put me down please."

He dropped her to the ground unceremoniously, "Fine, but you're not going anywhere, girl."

Rin got to her feet, looking up at him with a frown, "I don't know what's going on, but I want it to stop."

"Really? You want this to stop, Rin? That can be arranged."

His tail lifted behind him, poised to strike. He expected her to see it for the threat that it was and run, allowing him the pleasant experience of chasing her down and watching the despair in her eyes. Instead, she smiled.

"Thank you. Sorry, you probably just need a little practice fitting in with people. Making jokes about murder isn't really acceptable." She walked up, and to his shock, once again embraced him, "But don't worry, I'll be here for you. I'll help you wherever I can."

Cell did his best not to gape. She was utterly, infuriatingly idiotic. Four years in his company surely couldn't be enough to make her blind to the situation. How could she refuse to see what was right in front of her?

"Now," She said, stepping back and putting her hands on her hips, looking around, "I wonder where everybody went."

He clenched his fists and growled, "Why don't I show you?"

Cell decided it was time to end things. She obviously wasn't going to be much sport, but at least he could enjoy her shock as he absorbed her. His tail lashed forward, stabbing her just below her left collar bone. Rin cried out in pain, staggering back and there was indeed shock in her eyes, along with a healthy dose of confusion, and betrayal.

"Cell-?"

She screamed in agony as he began absorbing her.

The sound wasn't quite as sweet as he had imagined it.

Suddenly he froze, eyes snapping to the sky – "Piccolo!"

Of all the...He wouldn't have the time to finish with Rin, and being mid-absorption would make him vulnerable to attack. He scowled down at the whimpering girl and reluctantly withdrew his tail. She fell to her knees, clutching the bleeding wound.

"Why did you do that? You hurt me!" She cried, eyes brimming with tears, "Cell, what have you done? All of these people…"

"I don't have time to deal with you," He said coldly, "Why don't you take this opportunity to run, I assure you there won't be another."

He let out a frustrated hiss as he felt Piccolo's energy practically around the corner. It was too late to make his escape. He would simply have to face the Namek and destroy him. If Rin was foolish enough to stick around, he would deal with her afterwards.

He turned, pushing the crying girl from his mind. He could destroy her…but really, with Piccolo around, what would be the point? He was a far better find so far as energy was concerned. Rin had always been an annoying presence, but not for long. He would probably never see her again after thi- **_oomph!_**

"What the hell did you do!" she cried, glaring down at him, and he realised in shock that she had taken the opportunity to knock him to the ground while his guard was down. Why that little-! He had been about to show her a smidgeon of mercy, allowing her to leave when he could easily kill her.

He rose off the pavement slowly, murder in his eyes, "You're going to wish you hadn't done that, you little pest…"

His fist had lashed out before she had a chance to scream, and he glared at where she lay after crashing into the adjacent building. She trembled on the ground, groaning in pain. He could hear clearly every word that she whispered to herself as he slowly approached her.

"This isn't real, it's a bad dream, Cell's still at home…he's still my friend, he hasn't hurt anybody, he would never hurt me…it's just a dream, nothing bad can happen to you in dreams…"

Rin couldn't stop the quaking of her limbs as she lay on her stomach, her arms over her head. Her face felt like it had been hit by a bus, and she could taste blood in her mouth. Her brain felt frozen and disbelieving, like she might imagine one would feel whilst watching a car crash. Terror froze her veins while her head swam, taking in everything that had happened and processing it with all the efficiency of a wet cake. She could hear Cell getting closer, and all she wanted was for him to give her a hug and tell her it had all been a joke. She would forgive him, she would! Anything for this to not be real…

"A dream you say, Rin?" He sniggered as he came to a halt, towering over her shaking form, "I'm afraid not, my dear, and the truth is that I will take every pleasure in hurting you. Something in my processing must have malfunctioned for me to consider letting you get away. I have all the time I need to absorb you," he slammed his foot onto the back of her neck, poising himself to strike, "But at least know this…you are becoming a part of perfection, and after all the hard work you've put into feeding and protecting me these past four years, I'm disappointed in myself for almost failing to reward you accordingly…Goodbye, Rin."

His tail whistled through the air, aiming for her spine. At least if he paralyzed her she might not feel as much of the pain…although why he cared, he couldn't say. He felt the anticipation rising, and his excitement was the exact reason why he didn't see the orange shoe hurtling through the air towards his head. Cell was lunged through the air, smashing into the pavement down the street.

"Hey freak!" a voice called, "How about picking on someone your own size?"

Rin raised her head at the voice, cringing when she once again caught sight of green skin. But the face that met her was nothing like Cell's. Handsome, proud features glanced down at her briefly, and a pair of intense dark eyes narrowed upon seeing her injured face, "You okay, kid?" The voice was gruff, but solemn all at once.

"Piccolo…" Cell called as he once again got to his feet, feeling his annoyance rising, "You have the most unfortunate timing. I was on the verge of concluding a four and a half year partnership…but I suppose if you are truly eager to become acquainted," The android smirked, "Then Rin will just have to wait her turn.

* * *

A/N: For the love of Kami, I am so glad that chapter is done. As you can tell by the wait, I struggled quite a bit. I tried to make the transition smooth, but in my opinion this chapter pretty much became a steaming pile of crap...I was going to have a load more stuff with Rin in the tournament, and Anko and whatnot but I was just like...ugh, who really wants to read about the every day interactions between a couple of OCs? So I gave that a skip and just said 'screw it', and got Cell to kill them all. Maybe some day I'll go back and give this chapter some more love, but right now I just kinda wanna shove it off a cliff and hope it flies.

So, I just wanna mention something. The reason why I had Cell meet Rin when she was a kid, resulting in her current age being almost 17, is because I wanted to have the two of them sort of... grow up together, and yet at the same time make sure that at the end of it all a romance was still possible. In my opinion, Cell is probably even younger than Rin, counting the time he spent in his test tube. He spent a couple of years in the past after he hatched, and was probably at most about ten years old in total when he met Rin. Of course psychologically, he's a lot older, but still...technically she's still two years above him. That's why I figured it would be okay to keep her a teenager (even though it's pretty annoying when OC's are teenagers, I figured it made more sense than her being a woman).

So, next crapter (not a typo) is going to have Piccolo in it. I have a pretty interesting relation plotted out for Rin and Piccolo (relax, not anything romantic, I DESPISE love triangles) but cool nonetheless. I freaking love Piccolo, although I'm pretty sure I mentioned that I love all the DBZ characters, I think he's one of the best.

So, feel free to shoot arrows at this mess as it flies past you, so long as they're in the form of reviews :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

* * *

Piccolo stared down the creature at the end of the street, settling into a practiced fighting stance. He was more than ready to unleash some of the pent up emotion he'd had since landing in the Kamiforsaken town, which was eerie in its silence, filling him with a sense of dread that had little to do with fear. The scattered clothes that were all that remained of the people that had once inhabited them each seemed to scream at him silently, accusation and desperate pleas floating along the breeze. His cape swayed in their wake, rustling softly, and it was all the namek could do to contain his accompanying shout of rage. No-one had the right to do this on _his_ planet. Inside his mind, Kami poked out one beady eye and glared at Cell, fully in agreement with him.

Beside him, Rin groaned, valiantly pulling herself to her feet. Piccolo kept as close a watch as he could on her without dropping his guard, wary of the one named 'Cell'. He had heard some of the pair's conversation upon landing in the city, involving something about the creature having only three toes. He had been confused as to why she seemed so comfortable in his presence, realising upon sensing his power that she was in the company of the one who had murdered the entire town. Their whole conversation had been confusing, but when he had heard the creature confess to the crimes and the girl's following scream, his powerlevel had spiked, giving away his position and forfeiting the option of listening in further. Still, he was glad he had lost control, or she would certainly be dead.

More baffling, however, had been the way the monster called his name upon sensing his powerlevel. It was clear that this Cell knew him, and recognised his ki, and yet Piccolo was fairly certain that he had never seen anything like the creature before. That wasn't a face you quickly forgot.

"Thank you," A soft voice whispered beside him, and his eyes once more flickered to the girl, who leant against the building behind her, clutching her shoulder and panting heavily, pain clearly evident on her bruised and bleeding face. Her pyjamas were becoming soaked with blood.

"You shouldn't be moving around, kid," He said sternly, "Just stay out of the way and you'll be fine. I'll deal with this guy."

She took a deep breath and shook her head, "Cell isn't…" She seemed unable to continue, clenching her teeth, "He's not…"

"Yeah, I gathered that you know him from your conversation earlier. I hate to break it to you, but your friend's a murdering psychopath who just tried to kill you. I wouldn't waste my breath trying to defend him."

He could see from the look on her face that she hadn't exactly accepted his words. Just what was her relationship to that monster?

"It's not nice to listen in on other's conversations, Piccolo!" The creature called, and the namek could see the malevolence in his eyes even from his distance. He clenched his fists.

"And what would you call what you're doing right now?" He shouted back, irked at the continued use of his name. The creature laughed.

"Why, I am merely ensuring that you cease your gossip and turn your attention back to the task at hand. You're not leaving this town alive, Piccolo."

"Oh really?" He smirked, "Well, I don't know how you know that name but it seems you've mistaken me for someone else, _Cell._" Piccolo eyed the girl, "Rin. That's your name, right? Get out of here now, while you can."

Rin looked up at the tall green man, fighting a losing battle against the pain of her injuries. Her face throbbed with a dull ache, but it was Cell's stab wound that agonised her. She was unable to move her left arm and the coin sized hole felt as if it was on fire. She could feel that the muscle and sinew around the wound had been either removed or somehow liquefied, dribbling out along with the blood. The thought made her stomach churn and she had to fight the urge to retch.

Her gaze strayed towards Cell and her vision swam, shock once again taking hold of her. When Cell had stabbed her, her entire mind had gone blank. Every thought had been wiped from her brain, and she had felt only horror. Now, just the look on his face had the power to bring back that feeling. When she had struck out at him, knocking him to the ground, rage unlike any she had ever felt had fuelled her. Now all she felt was all-consuming, immeasurable grief. It was the same, hopeless, agonising feeling she got every time she imagined her grandpa in a car-crash, or Cell getting killed by one of the forest animals. She wanted to cry like a little child, bawl her eyes out like a toddler, but some strength prevented it. Or perhaps it was just the trauma, numbing her.

"I…I'll try," She told the green man, not missing the way the harsh lines around his mouth softened, "But please…Cell is my…H-he's…" She couldn't say the words 'my friend', not with Cell standing right there, and horrific pain as a reminder that 'friendship' was clearly out of the question. But, somehow, she still begged her mysterious rescuer to understand. She didn't want Cell dead. At least…at least not until she had gotten some answers.

"Forget about him." Piccolo scowled, "Just get lost before you get in my way." He couldn't for the life of him understand what Cell had over a kid like her, but she needed to get the hell out of there immediately. The last thing he needed was a hostage taker.

Flinching slightly at his harsh tone, she nodded, "Right, of course…" Sticking around clearly wasn't an option. At the back of her mind, thoughts of reaching a hospital were timidly begging to be heard, "I need to get help for this anyway." She gestured lamely to her arm before pinning an intense stare at the green man, "Please be careful Mister. He's a lot faster than he looks and his tail hurts like a mother." Snorting a bit, she began to stumble away, absolutely refusing to give a last look at Cell. A bone-deep weariness had taken over her, and with a sense of resignation she realised that she never, _ever_ wanted to see him again.

Piccolo watched her go from the corner of his eye. He might have felt guilty for snapping at her if not for the fact that she was finally leaving. And since Cell was watching her like a starving predator, that could not be a bad thing. Though he'd be lying if he said he wasn't intrigued by her.

Cell listened to Rin's attempt at pleading for his life, and her eloquent summation of her injury. The words _'hurts like a mother'_ played back in his head, and he found himself chuckling. Her colloquial teenage dialogue could occasionally be a source of amusement for him. He watched her stagger away from Piccolo, darker thoughts halting his laughter. So, despite everything she still saw him as her…what? Friend? Companion? _Pet? _What a little fool…As soon as Piccolo was taken care of, he would remedy her of those thoughts. She couldn't get far with her injury.

Attention snapping back to the namek he narrowed his eyes. The real game would begin _now_.

* * *

It wasn't long before Rin heard the sounds of explosions coming from where she had left Cell and the one he called Piccolo. She did her best to stem the blood that continued to pour from her wound, but she only seemed to make it worse. It wasn't long before black tendrils crept in from the edges of her vision, causing her to trip over a stray root. She had made it outside the city, with great difficulty, but that didn't stop her from feeling the earth shake beneath her feet as the two green men battled it out.

With a gasp, she fell to her knees, giggling faintly and exclaiming, "Oh snap, two green men! They're b-both green!" Suddenly, it was the funniest thought she had ever had. She doubled over, laughing until she cried, blood dribbling from the corner of her mouth. Spotting a blade of grass the exact shade of Piccolo's skin had her howling with mirth.

It wasn't long before her head began to pound, the pain growing more intense as she laughed. She felt her mouth fill with saliva, and before she could stop it, she was throwing up on the very grass she had been laughing at. Wiping her mouth on the sleeve of her pyjamas, she snorted as she spotted the carrots amidst the sick, immediately thinking of Cell's odd orange sections, "…nasty."

She climbed to her feet, careful to avoid the mess and continued on, intending to head for…anywhere that was away.

She was thrown off her feet as a loud explosion sounded behind her. She cried out as she was flung forward a few feet, landing heavily on her injured shoulder. She choked for a moment on the pain, before her vision went black and unconsciousness took her.

* * *

Piccolo listened to Cell's story, a clear picture beginning to form in his mind. A clear, horrible picture. He was still reeling from the pain of absorption, but he could feel his power rising. Soon he would be able to regrow his arm and continue their fight – it was fortunate that Cell was chatty.

"I dispensed of young trunks easily enough, but then I faced a more interesting challenge. In order to fit into the time capsule I was forced to regress into my larval state. That being accomplished, I was instantly transported into another time and place. A time in which I hoped I would find my precious androids alive and well, in which I would be able to realise my true potential."

Piccolo carefully logged every bit of information, making sure that he didn't allow the pain to cause his attention to wonder. How that girl had managed to make it out of the city experience that kind of agony was beyond him. He had lost track of her power-level after the fight had started, but remembering her now brought back another question he had been burning to ask.

"What about that girl," He asked, immediately noticing the way the previously casual android stiffened, his expression darkening, "How do you know her? Is she from the future too?"

Cell seemed to make an attempt to regain his composure, closing his eyes and giving a nonchalant shrug, "Ah yes, I should have realised you would want to know about that. Rest assured, Rin comes from this timeline. Understandably, when I arrived here four and half years ago I was could not begin my search whilst in larval form. I had to wait until I had regained my fighting shape," He scowled, seeming frustrated, "That proved to be difficult however, as every creature that came across me saw me as a meal. I was uncertain of my own survival, when young Rin charged in and saved me from one of my attackers. She then took it upon herself to befriend me. You see, she was a lonely, pathetic child and once she realised that I was intelligent and seemingly helpless, she couldn't resist the urge to protect me. I was, at first, against the idea and my only thoughts were of killing the brat. But then, she proved herself to be useful. Rin possesses a far above average power level for a human, and she was of far more use to me alive than dead. I indulged her in her fantasy of friendship, and she proved her worth time and time again, feeding me…protecting me. It was laughably easy to keep her around. I only had to speak every once in a while, make her feel special and wanted and I had her eating out the palm of my hand…rather ironic, don't you think?"

Piccolo was beginning to understand why she had seemed ready to defend Cell. She had known him since she was a child, and he had emotionally manipulated her into become his lackey, and then tried to suck out her insides. The creature before him had killed countless people, but somehow that in particular just seemed…sick. Like the way it would have been if he had turned around and murdered Gohan after training to defeat the saiyans.

"So she's been with you since you arrived here? For over four years?" He barely managed to keep the disgust and anger out of his voice, but Cell didn't seem too bothered. Piccolo was struggling to comprehend this fresh brand of evil. He had definitely not been a saint, what with his own plan of enslaving the planet, but even _he_ had been softened by a mere six months with Gohan, and he had been a potential threat as the son of his _sworn enemy_.

"Indeed," Cell replied, "She adored me. I was her only friend and she…well; you might even say that she is my biggest fan." Cell threw his head back and laughed.

"And she had no idea what you were." Piccolo stated, hatred beginning to bubble beneath his façade. Even the ever-forgiving Kami was shaking his fist in rage.

"Yes…until this morning she was completely oblivious to my true nature. I have watched her grow from a troublesome child to an annoying young woman, and believe me when I tell you that she is one human whose death is long overdue." The android took a few steps forward, "Speaking of which, I'm afraid your time is up Piccolo. Are we done talking?"

Piccolo glanced down at the ground, the very picture of a resigned man, "Yes, I'm ready," He smirked then, staring the android right in the eye, "You've said more than enough!" He effortlessly ripped away the shrivelled husk that had once been his arm, internally laughing at the androids gasp of surprise, before focusing his energy and forcing his body to regrow the discarded limb. His new arm shot forth, covered in excess fluid, and he flexed his muscles with a smirk, "I just needed a little time."

"You tricked me!" The android exclaimed, taking a step back, "I should have known you were up to something!"

"Yeah," Piccolo muttered, "You should have. I will _never_ allow you to be complete, Cell. I'm going to put an end to this right now!"

"_Veery_ cunning," Cell said, taking another sliding step back, "Perhaps my superior mind comes from you."

"Don't give me all the credit. The idea was Kami's."

"Kami?"

"INCOMING!" A voice cried, and Piccolo and Cell both snapped their gaze upwards, staring at the sky where two figures began to descend upon their location, their energy's suggesting Krillin and Trunks. Their eyes immediately snapped onto the obviously unconscious form in Krillin's arms. The half-saiyan and the monk landed beside Piccolo, each staring at Cell in a mixture of horror and fascination.

"So, the rest of your little gang begins to make their appearance. How very fortunate for you, Piccolo," Cell smirked, "But I see that Krillin has something that belongs to me. What say you hand over the girl, little man, and we each make our separate ways?"

"Huh?" Trunks muttered, shooting a glance at Rin, "Is he talking about her?"

Krillin took a step back, tightening a hold on his cargo, "Okay, he's freaking me out man. Is this the guy who wiped out Ginger Town, Piccolo?"

"That's him." The namek said quietly, "Steer clear of his tail, and don't let him get his hands on the girl, Krillin."

"Hey, no problem!" Krillin said nervously, "We found her collapsed outside of town and figured she must have been a survivor of the attack." The monk frowned down at the girl in his arms, clearly concerned, "She's lost a lot of blood. Does she have something to do with that monster? And why can I sense Goku and Tien?"

"I'll explain everything later. For now, we focus on killing this thing."

"Is he strong?" Trunks asked, "We sensed your power level dropping a while ago."

Piccolo looked Cell dead in the eye before smirking, "Yeah, he's strong. But he's no match for the three of us, and he knows it."

"You really think you can defeat me?" Cell called to them, chuckling, eye's glancing around shiftily, "Don't flatter yourselves…"

The three of them gasped as the android leapt into the air, each going on the defensive. Piccolo slid in front of Krillin, ensuring that the android would be unable to target him while he was preoccupied with carrying Rin. None of them caught on to Cell's ploy as he positioned himself in front of the son.

"I hate to be rude, but I have a date with a couple of friends that I simply can't miss. BUT HERE'S A PARTING GIFT!"

"What!" Piccolo growled, eyes widening in shock as the android began to cackle.

"SOLARFLARE!"

The three warriors cried out in pain as the first, blinding rays of light assaulted their eyes before they had a chance to snap them shut. They staggered around, shaking their heads in an attempt to clear their vision.

"He's gone!" Trunks said, prising open his gaze.

"Darn it!" Piccolo roared, rubbing his eyes. Krillin, while still carrying Rin, was unable to provide such relief and groaned.

"Master Roshi's sunglasses are starting to sound pretty good round about now."

"We have to find him!" The namek commanded, shooting into the air, hovering above the city and searching about desperately. Trunks followed while Krillin remained on the ground, adjusting his grip on Rin.

"Hey Piccolo, that's my dad's energy. He's on his way to us." Trunk's said absently, still surveying the city. Piccolo growled.

"And Tien's not far behind. We need to fill them in on what's going on."

Krillin felt the girl in his arms begin to stir, and called to the others, "Hey, she's waking up!"

The two airborne warriors turned their attention towards Krillin. Trunks watched Piccolo slowly descend from the air, landing on the ground with his back turned, some way away from the monk. The negative energy coming off of the namek was enough to make the hairs on his arms stand up. The half-saiyan dropped from the air, landing beside Krillin, and keeping a wary eye on Piccolo.

Rin blinked open her eyes, her vision clearing ever-so-slowly as she looked up into a worrying face. Swallowing slightly, she tried to place exactly what had her confused about the man holding her. He had a cute, somewhat attractive face, but something was…missing.

"Oh!" She gasped out suddenly, reaching up and taking hold of the orange material over the man's chest, "Where's your nose?"

The bald man stared down at her in shock for a moment before grinning, and she heard a soft chuckle from behind her, "You know, I've been wondering that myself, Krillen."

"Yeah, I get that a lot…" Krillin said. Catching a flash of green from the corner of her eye, her head snapped to the right, eyes widening on the green warrior from earlier.

"It's you…" She said, though he avoided eye-contact, "Then that means that Cell really is – that Cell really did – Oh crap. Oh crap, oh crap oh crap…" She felt her lips trembling, and tears threatening to well up, and she grimaced. At that moment, the pain seemed to get its cue to remind her of everything on her that hurt, and she squeezed her eyes shut, taking in gasps of air.

"Take it easy, okay?" the man who was holding her said gently, "Cell's gone, you don't – "

"He's dead?" Rin cried, eye's flying open.

"No." Piccolo finally spoke up, sounding angry, "He managed to escape."

Rin later wanted to kick herself at the huge sigh of relief she breathed, especially when Piccolo scowled murderously at her. She shrank back into Krillen's arms, fearfully looking away from the green man. Her gaze then landed on the boy who had just stepped into view, giving her a kind smile. He was extremely handsome, with shoulder-length purple hair and blue eyes. He looked to be about her age.

"But we're going to catch him, as soon as we get you something for that shoulder of yours." He pointed delicately at the bloodied wound on her chest, "My name is Trunks, and this is Krillin and Piccolo. We're going to take care of this, okay?"

She nodded dumbly, before remembering her manners, "Oh, um, thank you! My name is Rin, it's a pleasure to meet you." She looked around, finally noticing the decimated buildings around them, "Oh my gosh, is this…is this Ginger Town?"

"Yeah," Krillin said, "We found you just outside and figured you could use some help." He chuckled, "Piccolo can get a bit carried away sometimes, and that means that lying anywhere near here would have been a serious danger zone." A blush grazed his cheeks, "So, I'm not a pervert or anything, if that's what you're wondering…I would put you down, but I don't think that's a good idea in your condition."

Piccolo rolled his eyes, "I did _not_ get carried away."

She frowned up at Krillin, "Pervert? Why would I think that? You're just being nice."

Krillin laughed, "Oh man, remind me never to let you meet Bulma or Chi-Chi."

"Huh?" She felt extremely lost.

"Never mind Krillin," Trunks told her with another gentle smile, "He's just had some bad experiences with girls."

"Oh," She couldn't understand why. He had such an honest face. Biting her lip, she realized that things were settling into an awkward silence, "Are we waiting for something?"

"My dad and another friend of ours are on their way. Piccolo is going to explain everything he found out as soon as they get here. Then Krillen will take you to a hospital to get that looked at."

"I will?" Krillin asked, before catching the look on Trunk's face, "Right, yes. I will."

"No, you won't." Piccolo interrupted. Trunks, Rin and Krillin all looked at him in confusion. Piccolo eyed them sternly, "Once you hear what I have to say, you'll realize that we need to keep Rin with us. You'll take her to Kame house, Krillin."

"Oh. Okay, sure thing. I'm sure Chi Chi wont mind having another patient."

"Um…Do I get a say in this?" Rin asked.

"No." Piccolo deadpanned.

Suddenly feeling very frightened, she squeaked out, "Are you going to kill me?"

The green man spun around, nearly tripping over his own feet, "What? No!"

"Then wh-why can't you just take me home?" She whispered, worried that anything louder would cause her voice to break. Catching sight of her expression, Piccolo sighed before stepping forward, placing a careful hand on her head. His expression softened, and though it resembled nothing close to a smile, it seemed truly sincere.

"We would never hurt an innocent, understand?" He said gruffly, "While you're with us you have nothing to fear. We're going to protect you."

Krillin watched the rare display of kindness, obviously puzzled, "_Yeahhh…_" He said, giving Piccolo a quizzical frown, "Yeah, we're the good guys! Piccolo may look evil, but he's just a big push-over, trust me."

Piccolo glared, but with his hand still tenderly over her head, the effect was somewhat ruined and she let out a giggle. Trunks stepped forward, frowning.

"Why would you think we'd hurt you?"

Piccolo scoffed before she had a chance to answer, sliding his hand away and turning around again, folding his arms, "Trust me. That will make perfect sense in a while."

Rin watched him curiously, wondering what he meant by that. The bad vibes she had been receiving a second ago, leading her to believe that she was headed for yet another planned execution, were now all but gone. She had no idea who these people were, or what their motive was for keeping her around, but there was no doubt that the bald man carrying her so gently didn't have a malicious bone in him. The lavender-haired boy gave off a polite, gentlemanly air, and while he did have a serious face, he seemed genuinely kind. Piccolo scared her, but at the same time his vow of protection gave her the reassurance she needed to relax into Krillin's hold.

She didn't know what the future would bring with these three, but something told her that her life was about to be turned topsy-turvy, and if she didn't make an effort to roll with the punches, literal and figurative, she wouldn't make it out alive.

* * *

A/N: BAM! Another update. I tried to wait until I got at least six reviews for the previous chapter but...yeah, here it is. As you can probably guess, this is the point where my OC becomes fully integrated with the DBZ crowd (yay).

I saw no need to write Piccolo and Cell's fight, so I just cut to the point where Rin was mentioned. If you want to know what happened there, watch episode 143, His Name Is Cell.

Now, I'm truly curious, so I'd appreciate it if ya'll would let me know. As far as script goes - would you like me to stick true to the episodes from here on, and just sorta fit Rin in, or would you prefer for me to make it up as I go, CANON be damned. This chapter I was leaning pretty heavily on the script. I can do a mixture of the two, so add some things and leave some things out or whatever. I dunno, you tell me xD

As always, you have my eternal gratitude for your reviews and faves, even if some of them have me wondering whether or not you like or loathe my story (I'm looking at you, Perfect Carnage...) xD


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:**

* * *

Rin sat on the ground, leaning against a large chunk of rocky debris, trying to compose her thoughts.

Around her were the five men she had just become acquainted with. There was Piccolo, who she had learnt was a member of an alien race called the 'nameks'. There was Trunks, who it had been mentioned was from the future. There was Vegeta, a frightening man whose regally handsome features were marred by a fierce scowl. There was Tien, a bald man with one eye too many. And then there was Krillin, another bald man with one nose too few. And all of them, as it turned out, could fly.

Krillin had sat her down shortly before Vegeta had arrived, and she had remained ignored for the most part throughout Piccolo's story. And then, the namek had given her a look that she could only interpret as pity and explained how Cell had used her as a source of food and protection before evolving into his mature form and setting out to kill her. All eyes had been on her as she tried to process the fact that the last few years of her life and her precious friendship had been nothing more than a lie she had helped create with a monster.

If she had tried to explain her feelings right then, she probably would have choked on words like anger or sadness. Because, truthfully, all she wanted to do was _laugh_. How _funny_, how crap-tastically _hilarious_ was it that she had been part of the scheme of an evil creation designed by a mad scientist, and was now being carted around by a ragtag team of ill-tempered superheroes while dealing with the pain of a hole in her chest? That was just so…so…

Oh, there was the sadness. Because, quite frankly, that _sucked_. Her best friend had betrayed her, she was pretty sure that one side of her face had been bludgeoned open and she couldn't even take a nap because everybody just kept _talking_.

My power this, end of the world that…Hadn't any of these people ever watched care-bears?

Not to mention that while they continued their merry conversation, which consisted largely of insults and threats, she was pretty sure that she was bleeding out. Vegeta, as good-looking as he was, really needed to calm his tits.

She coughed up the massive cloud of dust that erupted when the man blasted off into the air.

"Sometimes," Piccolo stated calmly, "He really gets on my nerves."

She giggled slightly, but the motion caused pain to lance through her injury and she ended up cutting off with a groan. Piccolo glanced down at her with a frown. In one fluid motion he knelt down beside her and gripped the collar of her shirt, ripping it along the wound before pushing it aside and assessing the damage. She said nothing as he did this, though she hissed with pain and clenched her hands into the dirt on either side of her. Getting one look at her injury had her whimpering and squeezing her eyes shut.

"Is it bad, Piccolo?" She asked, unsure if she wanted to hear the answer.

"Yeah," the namek replied, "But not as bad as it could be. You've lost some of the muscle in your breast bone and shoulder, but this isn't fatal. Not by a long shot."

"Oh…cool," She said weakly, "Can you put it away now, please?"

The namek tied her ripped shirt back together, effectively hiding the wound from sight before getting to his feet and facing Krillin, Trunks and Tien, who had been carrying on the conversation without them.

"We've decided that we need to make a stop by Dr Gero's lab, Piccolo." Krillin said, "Trunks is gonna go destroy the present Cell before he has a chance to make it out of his tube."

"Good," Piccolo said, "Krillin, you get Rin back to Kame house. I'll stay here and try to track down Cell."

"I'll give you a hand," Tien declared.

"Right," Krillin made his way over to her, giving her an encouraging grin as he hoisted her back up into his arms, "You know, if you guys can't find Cell, we should meet back at Master Roshi's. If anything, you might be able to find him on the TV news station."

"Good idea, Krillin." Tien nodded.

And with that, before she had even had a chance to say her goodbyes, Krillin had launched into the air.

She screamed. Loudly.

"Hey, calm down!" Krillin yelped, leaning away from where she was hollering into his ear drum, "You're safe with me, I won't drop you."

"This is insane!" She cried, clutching his neck with all the strength she possessed in her good arm, "This is freaking crazy!" She looked past his shoulder, unleashing another scream when she noticed that the others had already become a spec on the ground in the distance, "Oh Kami, this is high, this is s-_sooo_ high…"

Krillin did his best to laugh that off, "Yeah, but don't worry about it. I won't let anything happen to you, I promise."

"People keep saying that," she mumbled, tucking her head onto his chest and closing her eyes, "I don't get why though. If it wasn't for me, Cell wouldn't have…he wouldn't be…"

The monk sighed, tightening his hold reassuringly, "Don't beat yourself up about that, okay? There was no way you could have known. That monster tricked you. He probably could have done the same to any of us."

"I'm not beating myself up. I know what I fee-felt. And it was real. I just don't get why _you _guys aren't blaming me."

"Jeez, kiddo!" Krillin chuckled, "Believe me when I tell you that none of us will give you grief about this. You might not know this, but Vegeta is the guy who's usually pointing fingers and even he couldn't bring his princely butt to blame you. Trust me, we've got people who've done a lot worse then make friends with the wrong crowd in our little gang."

She poked one eye open, squinting up at him curiously, "What do you mean? And who _are _you guys anyway?"

"That's…kinda hard to explain. But I guess you've earned it." He glanced around, before his features hardened in decisively, "Right, I'll take you to a quick pit-stop at Korin's. I can tell you along the way."

Krillin then relayed to her the tale of Goku, the saiyan who crash-landed on earth. She listened in awe as he told her about the boy's childhood, before mentioning how they had met Piccolo and Vegeta, the prince of the saiyan race. She sensed that he was leaving out some important details, but the gist of it was that Goku had gone around defending the earth, making friends with powerful people along the way. She was a bit confused when he told her of their trip to planet namek, fighting the evil known as Freeza along with Goku's son Gohan, and their beautiful , but feisty childhood friend Bulma. He seemed to skirt around their reasons for going to the planet, as well as the reason for Vegeta accompanying them back, but the general picture was of a group made of powerful aliens and humans coming together to defend the earth, with the aid of magic namekian items called the dragon balls. He mentioned that Gohan and Piccolo had a special bond due to them training together to fight a threat to the earth, a saiyan named 'Nappa', though she felt that he was once again leaving something out of the picture.

He seemed to hold quite a bit of awe whenever he mentioned Goku, making him sound like some sort of angelic defender. She was a bit nervous at the thought of meeting someone like that.

He then explained to her that Trunks, the half human, half saiyan son of Vegeta and Bulma had traveled back from the future to warn them of a pair of androids who had killed everyone in his own time.

"It's pretty weird, even for us," Krillin said as they climbed higher and higher into the air, "I mean, first we had to get over the fact that _Bulma_ and _Vegeta_ had had a kid, and now we've got baby Trunks and future Trunks at the same time!"

"That is…" she shook her head, "If it weren't for what happened in Ginger Town earlier, and the fact that you're _flying_, I probably wouldn't believe you. But…" she blinked at the long tower that they were flying up besides, "Hey, is this it?"

"Yep, this is Korin Tower."

The pair climbed through the air before climbing onto a circular landing.

"Yo, Yajirobe!" Krillin called.

A fat little man came into view, accompanied by a floating white cat.

"Ah, Krillin," the cat said, "If you're here for more senzu's, I'm afraid they're not ready yet."

Yajirobe took one look at Rin and frowned, "Hey, you're pretty. Why the heck are you with Krillin?" he caught sight of the blood, "Woah, what happened there?"

Krillin sent the fat man an annoyed look, "For your information, Yajirobe, Rin was hurt by another one of Dr Gero's androids. And I'm with her because she needs help."

"Another one?" the cat leant back onto the wooden staff he was carrying, "That man really needs to close the factory…eheh, if you know what I mean."

"Trunks is out dealing with his latest bun in the oven right now."

"Well, that's great and whatnot, but I'm afraid I can't help you this time, Krillin." The cat shook his head sadly.

"Aw, come on Korin," Krillin implored, "You've gotta have at least one! Even if it's not completely ripe, it'll still help."

Yajirobe pointed an accusing finger, "Hey, don't you dare ask to defile the integrity of the Senzu! Eating an unripe bean is sacrigeous, you know!"

Korin let out a sigh, "Sac_rile_gious, Yajirobe."

Rin festered silently, feeling her patience running thinner and thinner. She was in agonizing pain and these two were in the way of the only medication she was likely to get. Was it too much to ask to just stop by a hospital? Surely there had to be one less out of the way then an _obelisk that rose into the clouds _were Cell wouldn't get to them? She had always been polite and sweet, no matter the circumstances, and she felt that her pain was clouding her judgement a bit. After all, Krillin was just trying to help, and she didn't know the cat or Yajirobe personally, so they were under no obligation to assist, but…but-!

"_Oi!_" She screamed, clenching her one good fist, "I don't know you, and you don't know me, but I am probably having _the worst_ day of my, or anyone's lives! I got stabbed by my _friend_, kidnapped by _this_ guy," she jabbed her thumb in Krillin's direction, "After Ginger Town was _destroyed_ and now you're withholding medication because of…of _religion?_" She exclaimed indignantly, "You're a _talking cat_ for Pete's sake, and this is _Kami's freaking tower!_ You live _right below_ God, so if it's not too much _trouble_, why don't you give him a call and ask if I, pretty please, might be allowed to partake of your magic beans before I _jump_ off this tower and put an end to my misery!"

Silence.

Krillin was looking down at her as if she were some sort of alien life form, and Korin and Yajirobe had both taken several steps back. She was panting heavily, her voice hoarse. She had never, _ever_ screamed at anybody before, or been so blatantly rude. Her injuries, however, had been screaming right alongside her. Now, looking at the somewhat frightened expressions on the males' faces had the hot flush of shame rising onto her cheeks.

"I…um," She felt suddenly exhausted, and she seemed to be sweating heavily, despite her bones feeling utterly chilled, "Gosh, I'm so sorry…That was really horrible, I'm not usually like this, I swear, I just…" She closed her eyes, feeling mortified.

A furry hand landed on her forehead, causing her to yelp. Korin floated beside her, a grave expression on his whiskery face, "Hmm, that's quite a fever you've got there, Missy." He said, "I'll excuse your little tantrum, considering."

"So, uh," Krillin began, laughing nervously, "Can you help her, Korin?"

The cat shrugged, "If it'll prevent her from going nuts again, then sure, I guess we can break the rules a little." The cat ambled off, "I don't know how well this will work. It'll depend on her powerlevel. An unripe bean wouldn't do much for Goku or Piccolo, but it might work on a normal human.

"Of course, if you just waited a couple of days this wouldn't be a problem, but from the looks of things you've waited a bit too long already." He disappeared into the back.

"Ohhh," Rin groaned, resting against Krillin's chest, "I'm so sorry, Krillin. I didn't mea- well, I meant it, but I should never have said those things. Especially since I just remember that Kami fused with Piccolo, and these guys are probably still mourning him. I was so _insensitive_!"

Krillin, to her surprise, let out another one of his heart-warming chuckles, "Actually, I'm pretty sure that Kami would have paid to have seen that. You're in a lot of pain right now, physically and emotionally, so again, don't beat yourself up about it."

Yajirobe, however, hadn't stopped glaring, "This broad is even crazier than Marron, dude."

Krillin turned beat-red, "This is nothing like Marron, man!"

"Who's Marron?"

"An ex-girlfriend," Krillin said resignedly.

"Oh," She frowned thoughtfully before nodding towards Yajirobe, "Yeah, nothing like Marron. Krillin and I just met."

Yajirobe shrugged, "Hmmph. You'd get along better with Piccolo or Vegeta anyway. They give me the creeps, too."

At this, Krillin and Rin shared a puzzled look before shaking their heads and ignoring the fat swordsman.

"Alright, after some careful consideration, we have a winner," Korin announced as he re-entered their line of vision, paw outstretched with a slightly yellow little bean in its hold, "It's the biggest and greenest of the lot, and so it'll have to do."

Rin accepted the little bean, obviously confused, "So, I just eat this? And I'll be healed?"

Korin shrugged, "That really depends on your power level. At the very least, it should heal the injuries on your face."

"Alright, here goes then. Cheers!" And with that, she popped the little bean and chewed. A bitter, unpleasant taste filled her mouth, "Eurgh."

"They taste better ripe," Krillin told her, watching her carefully for any signs of improvement. Slowly, miraculously, her skin began to heal, leaving behind only dried blood as a sign that she had ever been injured to begin with. He grinned.

Rin felt all her aches and pains slowly begin to recede, and an odd, warm sensation in her stab wound. Untying Piccolo's knot, she watched in awe as the wound seemed to knit itself together until only a shiny pink scar remained.

"Th-that's incredible!" She exclaimed. It still hurt a bit, but she felt all of her energy zoom to max as if she had been recharged. All her hunger pains, which she hadn't even realized were there, disappeared. She flexed her arm experimentally. It was still stiff, but not racked with agonizing pain as it had been earlier.

"Eh, if it had been a ripe bean, you wouldn't even have a scar. But I guess it's better than nothing." Yajirobe said, sounding unimpressed.

"Do you think you can stand now?" Krillin asked. When she nodded enthusiastically, he released her, but kept his hold on her upper back, just in case.

Rin had never felt better. She flexed her muscles, grinning from ear to ear, "Wow…" She whispered, awed. Korin barely had time to react before she had pulled him into a crushing hug, "Thank you so much, Mister Korin! And I apologize for what I said earlier!"

The cat, whose face was currently nestled firmly between her breasts, let out a muffled, "You're welcome." Grinning sleazily, Korin decided that it was well worth the integrity of his beans to be thanked in such a manner.

Yajirobe watched, both jealous and disconcerted, "You flip-flop more than the footwear of the same name, don't you?"

Smiling, Rin deserted the cat and latched on to Yajirobe, her brain letting out an enthusiastic _'hugs for everyone!' _

Krillin watched the display with an exasperated grin. He wasn't sure what would be easier to deal with – the subdued, seething Rin who he had carried in his arms, or the hyperactive creature that had Yajirobe blushing to his toes. He supposed she had earned the right to be a tad bipolar, but if she carried on mood-swinging, he really would have to keep her away from Bulma and Chi Chi. They could only be a bad influence

"We should get going," Krillin called, breaking up the odd scene, "Come on, I know a short cut to Master Roshi's."

* * *

Cell glared at the spot where his prey had just prey had just disappeared before turning his gaze upwards, "Hah, it's Krillin." His eyes narrowed on the third form that the monk held in his arms, "And Rin. My, what a pleasant surprise."

After escaping from Piccolo, Krillin and Trunks he had made short work of the surrounding towns, careful to remain one step ahead of them. His energy had been tremendously bolstered by the human souls he now contained within him, and he had been about to make a quick snack of the young woman and her small brother that Krillin had just taken from him. Annoyance had been his first reaction, but to think that he was so lucky as to be gifted with a lone Z warrior, and a weak one at that, carrying none other than Rin herself.

"How nice of you to join us, Krillin," He called up to the bald man, "And Rin, lovely to see you again so soon."

Krillin and Rin both stared down at the android in horror, "K-Krillin, what do we do?" She stuttered out. It was as if a knife had been driven into her gut upon seeing Cell again. It was too soon. She couldn't, _wouldn't_ cope with this. Looking down into his cat-like eyes, every fond, happy memory of her childhood rose to the surface, along with the replay of Cell's foot slamming down on her neck, pinning her to the ground as he prepared to end her life. The memories circled one another, snapping at her heels with malicious playfulness.

She felt Krillin tense up and mutter, "I dunno, but this ride is getting a little crowded."

With that, the monk lowered onto the ground, allowing his passengers to put their feet down.

"You're so brave," The brunette lady at his other side said in awe, "Thanks for rescuing us."

Krillen staggered back from her a bit, eyes widening, "Sure, no problem! Now get outta here!"

"Right," the pretty lady said, before grabbing onto her brother's wrist and running off across the airport landing strip, headed for a large yellow plane.

While Krillin watched her leave, blushing slightly, Rin shrank back under the relentless stare of Cell. Swallowing thickly, she decided to play it cool.

"…Hi."

"Hello," Cell greeted, smirking, "I see you've been healed. I can sense your energy is at maximum."

She nodded slightly, "Magic beans. It's been a weird day."

The android chuckled, "Indeed. I suppose your world has been turned upside down by these recent events." He shook his head sadly, "And to think, all of your suffering could have been prevented if I had been allowed to absorb you earlier. No matter…we've been given the opportunity to remedy that mistake. Fortuitous, is it not?"

She took a small step backwards, "I think I'll take my chances with the suffering, Cell." She stared at him imploringly, "Y-you don't have to do this, you know! If you stop all of this then I…"

"You…what? What do you possibly have to offer me?"

"Rin, stop it," Krillin whispered, watching them uneasily, "This can only end one way, and you won't like it."

"I have to try," She replied softly, "If…if there's even a tiny bit of the Cell that I knew in there, I have to find him."

The yellow plane lifted off into the sky, quickly disappearing into the distance. Ignoring the monks protests, she took a nervous step towards the android. And then another. And then another. And suddenly, she was twelve years old again, seeing him for the first time. She didn't stop until she was right in front of him, forced to crane her neck to peer into his narrowed eyes. One trembling hand came forward, reaching out to rest against his chest. She heard Cell rumble out a soft growl, and she was unsure of what that meant. Deciding to ignore it, she did her best to give him the one look that she remembered always working on him. Whenever she wanted to get Cell to engage in a game with her, or accompany her somewhere in particular, she would make a specific face that inevitably had him agreeing to her plans. It was a face that had even her grandpa bowing to her needs, and only her granny seemed immune to it.

Her brows drew together, her lower lip trembled, and her eyes grew large and beseeching. Before, the expression had always been made comically, but now she poured every bit of desperate pleading into it. She needed Cell to agree with her, needed him to understand her feelings.

"Anything," She told him, "I'll give you anything."

And for a moment, she could swear she saw his features soften slightly. He seemed to relax beneath her palm, and his mouth opened to reply. Her eyes widened and she took in a deep breath, readying herself for his response. He looked…almost confused, lost even. She had got through to him – she could feel it!

And then his eyes narrowed and he was one again tense beneath her fingers, before he leant down, murmuring into her ear, "Unfortunately for you, my dear Rin, there is absolutely nothing I want more, at this moment, then to drain you and your little friend of all your energy."

Before she could respond, frozen in horror, his clawed hand clamped down on the wrist that was resting on against his chest, wrenching it away. In a flash, he turned her around, pressing her back against his chest and crushing her against him with his other arm. From this position, she could clearly see Krillin as Cell fired a red blast of energy, forcing the monk to dodge. Cell cackled, and she could feel the vibrations of his laugh through her back.

"RIN!" Krillin roared as he dodged yet another blast, "Dammit Cell, let her go!"

"I don't think I will," the android replied, leaping forward with Rin still in his arms and launching a volley of strikes with his wicked tail.

It was Krillin's yelp of fear that had Rin snapping out of her daze. Narrowing her eyes, she charged up a ball of energy in her hand before raising her palm and ducking her head, aiming it at Cell's face. The android grunted in pain as the blast singed his eyes, his grip loosening just enough for her to bring her elbow forward and slam it back into his stomach with all her strength. The blow wasn't enough to truly injure him, but it had enough force to make wriggling out of his grasp a possibility.

"Run, Krillin!" She screamed, falling to the ground and rolling back up to her feet, ready to make a break for it. Her escape was brought to a halt when something gripped her ankle with crushing strength and she was flung through the air, slamming into the ground on the other side of Cell hard enough to make the pavement crack. She lay winded for a moment before catching sight of the tail whistling through the air towards her, having just enough time to roll out of the way, painfully twisting the ankle that Cell still had a hold on.

Krillin's elbow caught Cell on the back of the head before the android could ready another attack, and Rin kicked out of his hold, getting to her feet and jumping back, distancing herself from him, breathing heavily. Krillin landed beside her with a grimace, watching the android shake his head and glare at the pair of them.

"I…had…to…try," She panted out, far more exhausted than Krillin by the looks of things.

"I get it," Krillin responded, "Guess it didn't work though. At least we're giving him some trouble. Hey, Cell!" He called out, "Seems you're not used to people who can actually fight back, huh?"

The android didn't bother to respond, instead launching himself at the pair. Rin and Krillin both dodged in separate directions, but not before Cell managed to sink his knee into Rin's belly and bash his tail against Krillin's shoulder. Both earthlings flew through the air, landing in a tanged heap. Rin coughed dizzily, her vision causing her to see three Cells approaching them slowly.

"Crap," She heard Krillin mutter underneath her before he forced himself to sit up, leaving Rin to slide down his chest, sprawling in his lap.

"A valiant effort, both of you," Cell said, slowly focusing into one creature, "But all in vain…"

Rin blinked tiredly, feeling exhausted. Maybe death wouldn't be such a bad thing…who knew, maybe she'd meet her mom in the next life?

"Hn," Cell muttered, head snapping to look up into the air, "We have company. How _rude_ of them to interrupt." He glared down at the pair, "This time, you're lucky."

Crouching down, Cell slammed his palms against their faces, smothering them, "I'm _sure_ we can continue this another time. I'll be waiting."

And with that, he launched into the air, disappearing into the city.

Less than a minute later, Piccolo and Tien landed in front of them, staring around frantically.

"We just missed him!" Piccolo roared angrily. Tien turned to face the two of them, still sprawled unceremoniously on the ground.

"Are you two okay?" He asked. Krillin shook his head and Rin pulled herself off of his lap, sitting beside him tiredly.

"What do you think?" The monk asked rhetorically. Rin rubbed her temples, feeling a headache beginning to form.

"Come on," Piccolo said, "I think it's pretty clear by now that looking around blindly isn't going to help."

"So…Back to Roshi's, then." Krillin said resignedly, "Great."

"We can pick up Gohan and Yamcha," the namek said, rising into the air, "We'll need everyone on board if we're going to catch this creep."

Krillin got to his feet, holding out a hand for Rin to take, "Let's go, Rin. We did the best we could."

Nodding mutely, she took the monk's hand, allowing herself to be pulled back into his arms as he joined Tien and Piccolo in the air. As they flew off, gaining speed by the second, she allowed her mind to replay her little moment with Cell. That look on his face – the one he had been all too quick to wipe away. It had been an expression of genuine emotion, and not a malicious one. She knew she hadn't imagined it, she could feel it. For a moment, and only a moment, Cell had been weakened by her. And it was this that she clutched on to desperately, with all her might. There was something inside him that wasn't entirely evil, and it had been brought out when she touched him.

He wasn't beyond her reach. There was a tiny, miniscule part of him that was genuinely affected by her.

And that was all she needed.

* * *

Jeez, I'm churning these out. I'll take this moment to personally thank each and every one of my reviewers:

**Simgr101**: Sorry about the unsatisfactory names, but I can assure you that they were not ripped from Naruto (purposefully at least...). I do think you were a bit quick to label Cell as OOC. I mean, maybe read past chapter one, hmm?

**KRTheBlackPearl**: I'm_ preettty_ sure you know how much I adore your reviews by now. They keep this train choo-chooing, ya know?

**Bulma3678**: I hope you are just as pleased with 2-through-6 as you were with Chapter one ^^

**Ryven flame dancing saiyan**: There is definitely more plot now, so drop another review and let me know the verdict - like or hate? xD

**shiro-chan**: Thank you for the reviews, and I hope you liked the rest of the story too :)

**killerbee77**: Omg, he is totes one of my faves too! Thank you for the review, and hope you've enjoyed the updates P:

**vleer1994**: Ahhh, a metamorphosis you say...Makes sense, although he does _kinda_ hatch from his shell. I guess I wasn't picky enough when choosing the word for that xD But thank you for your complements, and I hope you enjoy this regardless of that little mistake.

**iveth**: Why thank you. Please continue to enjoy.

**Janemba Junior**: I'm quite partial to this kind of story myself. You know, impossible romance that doesn't even look like a romance for quite some time? Yeah, that xD Please enjoy!

**Zerousy**: OMG, your name and Avatar are so cute! Thanks a bunch for the reviews and feedback, I really appreciate it :D

**ShinyShiza**: Here's another craptor for you. Hehe, liked that didya? Thanks for the reviews!

**Lavonya**: Oh my gosh, three consecutive reviews, aren't you just a sweety-pie! Thank you so much, those babies make my day every time I see them! Especially the line 'not the usual Cell fic'. Oh yeah! . .y! What-what!

And of course, my terrifying reviewer, **Perfect Carnage**: Keep scaring the shit out of me while making me blush, buddy. I'm a masochist, I can take it. Hehe. xD

So, I hope you all enjoy this. I pretty much just went with my gut regarding keeping to script. I think it paid off.

If ya'll are wondering about Rin's seeming break in character, just think about it for a moment. NOBODY is going to stay nice and polite and quiet when they've been thrown into that situation. If I had kept her as sweet as always, that would have been unrealistic and a little boring. I also decided that tears wouldn't be making too big an appearance (although, she'll probably find a nice quiet spot and cry her eyes out later) so instead I went with mild craziness. When in doubt between crying and laughter, I make it a practice to laugh, so...

So, I'm hoping I have you guys wondering about Cell's itty, bitty moment of weakness. What does it mean!? Is it love? Guilt? Did he just have to sneeze and figured that would be undignified so he held it back? I dunno, I haven't written Cell's part yet, so I guess we'll all find out (NEXT TIME ON DRAGON BALL Z!) later as soon as he lets me know! But seriously guys, I am sorry if the fact that they haven't run off into the sunset together as _Cell decides to end his life of evil_ disappoints you, but that's just not how I work. I like_ slow_ building relationships. As in almost going backwards in time it's so slow. But I cant stand sad endings, so that should give you all hope that I don't kill them both off before it gets serious. Then again, who knows!

Please leave a review and let me know what you think! This chapter was slightly more weird since Rin went a little nuts, and I want to know if it payed off. Would you have preferred tears? Maybe more anger? Should she have kicked Krillin between the legs and tossed Korin off his tower? Drop a review and let me know. xD


	7. Chapter 7

If you spot typos or mistakes, please point them out! Lazy author is lazy.

**Chapter 7:**

* * *

Cell watched the group take off into the air, leaving the airport deserted but for his presence. His eyes were trained in particular on Rin, who he could see was lost in thought. He scowled.

The girl had caught him off guard. He had no idea why, but he had been fully prepared to beat her into submission when she had surprised him by laying her hand upon him once again. Somehow, the soft touch, which had already become so foreign in so short a time, had caused all of his limbs to lock down. He had only been able to look into her pleading eyes, reliving every moment she had touched him in the past and wondering when it had started having such an effect. Why was he having such difficulty remembering what he had wanted to say? He couldn't take his mind off the burning, _burning_ sensation of her tiny little fingers and their unimposing presence on his body.

Of course, it wasn't long before he had been able to shake off his odd state, his urge to kill then quadrupled. He should have blaster her into smithereens the moment he leant down to whisper in her ear, but somehow he found himself grabbing her instead. And then the little wretch had actually plucked up the courage to fight back!

He growled in annoyance. Why did the Z fighters insist on making her stick around? Couldn't they just send her home where she would be out of his way? Hmmm…they probably suspected he would attack her without their protection. Hah! As if he would bother going back over land he had already covered just to get to her measly energy.

No matter. Next time he saw her, he would be perfect. All of these infuriating malfunctions would be rectified and he could be rid of her once and for all. He couldn't _wait_.

* * *

In the space of two days, everything went to hell.

Rin arrived at Master Roshi's and introductions were immediately neglected as she was all but shoved into a corner while the rest of the Earth's Special Forces huddled in front of the television. Piccolo spared only a few words to inform the others that she was a victim of Cell and needed to remain under their protection, receiving absent nods and rushed greetings.

She had then watched in silence as they got increasingly more worked up, releasing more testosterone than a year's worth of training with her fellow Mongoose students put together. It might have been funny, if the source of their ire wasn't mass murder.

Then they had loaded themselves onto a jet and blasted off on a wild goose-chase to find Cell, planning to ambush him while they had strength in numbers. The thought gave her chills, but she had been too tired to think on it for long. A short while later, she awkwardly requested the use of their phone in order to contact her grandparents and ensure that they were both safe, having a brief panic attack at the realization that Cell might very well have killed them. The conversation that followed had been the most emotionally draining of her life, filled with relieved tears and assurances that both parties were safe. She had been forced to lie, saying that she was being held in protective custody until the madman who levelled Ginger Town was brought to justice. She conveniently left out that it was none other than _her_ madman that had done it.

With her emotional baggage over with, she had then been forced to witness someone else's when the infamous Goku awoke from his slumber, evoking a tearful reunion with his wife, watched surreptitiously by both her and Roshi. The legendary saiyan warrior had then given her the fright of her life by making eye-contact and smiling the most gentle, wonderful smile she had ever received and saying a simple hello, resulting in a stuttering conversation and a hasty escape down the stairs, where she hid in the kitchen, only to scream upon realising that she was sharing the space with a massive turtle.

Once Chi Chi, Roshi, and oddly enough the turtle himself had calmed her down and ushered her into the upstairs bathroom with instructions to 'take a long, relaxing bath' all of her emotional walls had broken down, and she found herself naked and sobbing about anything and everything, ranging from the ugly scar on her chest to the tiny bit of soap that she got in her eye. When she pulled away the bath curtain to find that someone had left her a fresh pair of soft, un-bloodied clothes, she found herself wailing in gratitude, feeling every bit as ridiculous as she looked.

The pale-green Chinese dress obviously belonged to Chi Chi, and while it was slightly too long and too tight around the chest area, it was still far better than her bloody and torn pyjamas. She emerged back downstairs a good two hours later after having washed her hair and gargled some toothpaste, to find Krillin, Tien, Yamcha and Piccolo had returned and were getting ready to turn in for the night. They all lay on soft futon's and were drawing the covers over their heads. The couch had a blanket and pillow draped over it that she assumed was for her. A soft breeze was blowing through the slightly ajar sliding door, and the light was fading quickly.

"Hey," she whispered, making her way over to Piccolo, who was showing no signs of fatigue and sat cross-legged, back turned to the others as seemed to be his habit, "How'd it go?"

"Cell's still out there," the namek growled, glaring at the lifeless television as if it were the source of all his woes, "But Goku, Vegeta, Gohan and Trunks are training to take him down."

"Oh." She responded lamely, leaning against the coffee table beside him, "I'm sorry I couldn't help you guys."

"Don't be," was his terse reply. Rin sighed, sensing that he wasn't going to be much in the way of company. She was exhausted, but didn't really feel like sleeping.

"Hey, Yamcha?" She whispered loudly. A muffled 'hmmm?' came from the furthest pillow away.

"You're not, like…_the_ Yamcha, by any chance are you? Cat loves food, yeah yeah yeah yeah?"

Yamcha let out a loud groan, and sniggers were heard around the room.

"That's one life choice you'll never live down, man," Krillin chuckled, rolling onto his side to grin over at him.

"I needed the money…" he moaned.

"I love that song." Rin proclaimed, grinning, "It's catchy. Cell hated it though."

Instantly, the atmosphere grew tense. She shrank back, wishing she could kick herself for mentioning it, "I mean, sometimes I'd go through stages when I'd sing it a lot, and he'd always tell me that…well, that the song sounded like a cat singing." She lowered her head when she caught Piccolo staring at her, "Sorry."

"Maybe we should have you sing it when we catch him, Yamcha," Tien quipped, clearly trying to lighten the mood, "Might throw him off his game."

"…Shut up."

There was some more snickering, and Rin felt herself relax, despite the fact that Piccolo was still giving her the stink eye. She did her best to avoid his gaze and got to her feet, tip-toeing past the three men's heads and crawling onto the couch, pulling the blanket up to her shoulder and staring out, absently tracing Piccolo's white cape with her eyes. Her mind played through the recent events over and over. The image of Cell's confused face kept floating through her mind, and with a huff she had closed her eyes, certain that there was no sleep to be had for her.

The next morning she had woken to the pale light of dawn and the ocean waves lapping against the shore. She couldn't remember when she had fallen asleep, and her glasses were pushed awkwardly against her nose. She slipped off the couch, unaware that Piccolo was wide awake and watching her carefully, and made her way upstairs to answer nature's call. She could hear Master Roshi snoring, and Chi Chi was mumbled something in her sleep that sounded like, '_that's my boy…read the other hundred pages now…great scholar…_'

She churned some more toothpaste and washed her face, disconcerted when a look in the mirror showed drawn and pallid skin. Downstairs she grabbed a few apples from the kitchen before making her way outside, sitting alone on the porch and eating her breakfast in silent contemplation.

She had decided that she needed a plan.

The fact was that Cell had tried to kill her again, even after their little 'moment'. She sat for what felt like hours, running that through her mind. Should she ignore his brief moment of weakness and move on or cling desperately to what little she had? What was there to lose if she waited around for Cell to be destroyed? She would just return home and continue on with her life, making an effort to forget that she had ever known him. In fact, she'd probably be better off. She could make some human friends for a change, maybe move to the city and get a job. Go to college…

But that wasn't at _all_ what she wanted. It wasn't even remotely close. She wanted her best friend back. She wanted to spend every day in his company, as she had for the last several years. She wanted to laugh at his dry sense of humour, cry onto his shoulder. She wanted to say something stupid in front of him and spend the next few days worrying about it. She wanted to see the way his eyes lit up whenever she brought him a meal, or listen to his chuckle whenever she tripped over her own feet.

As they had a million times in the past twenty-four hours, the words 'it's not fair' begged to be uttered. But she hadn't been raised to lament over inevitable truths. Her grandpa had always taught her to accept what she knew to be facts, and her granny had taught her to always make the best of them.

Fact: Her best friend had turned out to be a serial killer.

Fact: He had tried to eat her.

Fact: She was, for all intents and purposes, being held prisoner by the people who were going to kill him.

Her face had fallen into her palms at the realization that making 'the best' out of _those _facts was like making applesauce out of a lemon.

So she had returned back to the basics – what _did_ she want and what did she need to _do_ to ensure she got it.

What she wanted was for things to go back to the way they were. She didn't see how that could happen, considering that even if she were to somehow get her hands on Trunk's time machine, the Cell she returned to would still secretly be planning to kill her. 'The way things were' probably wasn't the best choice. Maybe all she meant was that she wanted Cell back.

Cell was her friend, no matter what. There had to be a reason why he was doing all of this. He was an android, so maybe he couldn't help himself.

That thought was dismissed as quickly as it came. He was _very_ much aware of his actions. But she didn't really know anything about him. She didn't know _Cell_. All she knew was how she felt in his presence. Perhaps if she discovered his plans for after he reached his perfect form, she could figure him out. After all, would it really be so bad for him to absorb those other two androids? One Cell was better than three, and who knew what kind of monsters they were? Piccolo didn't want that because Cell would become too powerful, but perhaps that was a good thing. If Cell got strong enough then nobody could hurt him.

That was such a selfish thought it made her cringe. Cell himself had hurt so many people…

But with those dragon balls that Krillin told her about, all of that could be undone, couldn't it? He had said all he wanted was to be complete, so after that he wouldn't have anything else to do. He…he could come home! The people he killed could be wished back to life and everything could return to normal. She could step in after he was complete and make sure that he knew she would still be there for him. Surely he wouldn't want to be all alone, and she had done so much for him…he had to have appreciated _some_ of it, right? She would get through to him somehow, make him realize how much she cared and convince him to stop with the carnage. He didn't have to feel the same way about her, not at first, but after time…surely he would reciprocate her friendship? Really and truly this time?

The sun was up by the time she had made her decision, and she felt a little less lost at sea. It would be difficult, but she had to try. She knew that she could get through to him. She was the only one who could, and she'd make sure that he never hurt anybody ever again.

And then, with that revelation, she was wrenched from her thoughts by the sound of something thudding softly into the sand. Startled, she looked to her left, eyes widening upon seeing the three figures that stood so casually on the shore.

One was a beautiful young boy with shoulder length black hair and a devilish smile. To his right was an equally attractive young blonde girl, smirking slightly at her. Behind them was a hulking behemoth of a man in green armour, sporting a bright red Mohawk. All three of them had ghostly blue eyes.

"Hi," the boy said mildly, "Can Goku come out and play?"

She blinked up at him, putting the apple core that she had absently been playing with down beside her, "Uh-sorry, he's not here. Are you friends of his?"

"She is right. Goku is not here," the big redhead said. Rin felt the hairs on her arms prickle. _'Why does he sound like a robot?'_

"Not here?" The boy demanded, sounding slightly annoyed. Rin cocked her head at them, something nagging at the back of her mind.

"_RIN!_" She heard Piccolo shout from the window behind her, and she turned in wide-eyed surprise, "_GET AWAY FROM THEM RIGHT NOW! THOSE ARE THE ANDROIDS!"_

She turned back to look at the three new arrivals in horror, only to find herself nose to nose with the boy, who was leaning down to peer at her, an inquisitive spark in his pale eyes, "You're a new one. I don't have any data on you."

She staggered back, stuttering, "Y-you're the androids? But you're just k-kids!"

No. It wasn't possible. The androids were all supposed to be odd monsters like Cell! They had no business looking like regular humans! How could she allow Cell to kill a person that looked around her age? And there was such life in them, you could tell just by looking into their eyes. They seemed cold and unearthly, but if you looked just a little deeper they were positively screaming with personality. They were human beings, with souls of their own, not the mindless machines she had made them out to be in her mind. Her senses reeled, and she realized numbly that things had just gotten a lot more complicated.

"Kids?" the boy said, still in the same soft tone, "Kinda the pot calling the kettle black, don't you think Little One?"

A large hand clamped down on her shoulder before she could reply and Piccolo shoved her behind him. She squeaked, stumbling until Krillin caught her shoulder, steadying her. Piccolo and the others had all exited the house and were now watching the androids apprehensively. Pale blue eyes reluctantly slid away from Rin, landing on the man in front of her.

"Hello, Piccolo," the male android said, "Who's the girl? She's pretty funny, for a human."

"Forget about her," the namek said firmly, "Goku's not here, so why don't you get lost?"

"Now, now," he replied reprovingly, "You really shouldn't talk to your guests that way."

There was a tense moment when nobody said another word. The smaller androids faced them with playful grins while the big one watched over the scene impassively. Rin stared, horror still draining the colour from her skin. Her recently constructed plan of waiting for Cell to become complete was shattering before her eyes, and nobody seemed to notice.

"That island." Piccolo said shortly, pointing to a stretch of land in the distance, "You and me."

The boy shrugged, "Very well, if you _really_ want to."

She barely had time to register what was happening before Piccolo was speaking to them over his shoulder, "You four stay here. This is my fight now."

And then Piccolo and their guests had raised into the air, the lovely blonde girl giving a happy laugh as they flew off. The four on the ground watched them go, each deeply unsettled.

Rin immediately turned to Krillin, grabbing him by the shoulders and crying, "Krillin, _those _are the androids? You said they were monsters!"

Krillin's eyes widened, "Th-they are! At least…" he glanced away shiftily, "According to Trunks they are."

And she could immediately tell that he had his doubts about that himself. Her hands fell to the side, her heart falling. What the heck was she going to do now?

"Take it from me," Yamcha interjected, one had making its way to his stomach, no doubt recalling where she had been told Dr Gero had impaled him, "No matter what they look like, androids will mess you up."

"Those weren't even the same androids, though," Krillin murmured, looking out at the island the others were headed to.

"What are you saying, Krillin?" Tien asked, "You don't think they're evil?"

The monk cringed at the sudden attention, "N-no, I'm not saying that…well, I mean, they don't _look_ too evil. They don't feel evil either. As far as we know, they haven't even killed anybody."

"Yet!" said Yamcha, "Just you wait. According to Trunks, they'll be blowing up building any time now."

"Not if Piccolo can help it," Tien grinned.

Krillin and Rin shared a look, and she knew in that moment that Krillin didn't want those two destroyed any more than she did.

* * *

The battle had been raging for quite some time, and Rin had been subjected to a constant stream of commentary from the others, feeling woefully inadequate for her inability to sense powers. It wasn't long, however, 'till Roshi pointed out that if they could feel it, so could Cell. Shortly after that, the others exclaimed in horror that they could in fact sense Cell moving in, though from _far_ away.

Then Chi Chi had arrived with a call from Bulma, who Rin remembered was involved with the grumpy Vegeta. To her dismay, she was calling with news of a remote that could shut the androids down, leaving them motionless and easy to destroy.

It was upon noticing the odd look on Krillin's face that she decided to take things into her own hands. Taking charge definitely wasn't in her nature, but neither was sitting back and watching something she _knew_ as wrong be allowed to happen.

She grabbed the monk's wrist, "Krillin, I need to speak with you privately for a second please!"

With that, she ignored the confused looks and Krillin's yelp of surprise and dragged him around the corner of the house, as far away from the others as she could get. He eyed her uncertainly, "Uh, what's up?"

"Do you have feelings for Bulma?"

Krillin choked, "Wh-what? Are you nuts? I've died more than once, and even I'm not crazy enough to go there! Vegeta would turn me inside out!"

She nodded, her suspicions beginning to grown stronger.

"Tell me what you think of the androids," she all but commanded. Immediately, the soft blush she had almost thought she'd imagined earlier returned. She pointed accusingly, "Ah-huh! Don't even try to deny it; you have a crush on the girl don't you?"

"Shhh!" the bald man cried, glancing around, clearly paranoid, "I don't know what you're talking about, android 18 is - "

"Please," she cut across him gently, "Please don't lie to me about this Krillin. I'm the girl who was best friends with Cell, remember?"

Looking a bit like a cornered rabbit, he wrung his hands, "Okay, fine! I just can't get that kiss out of my head!"

She blinked back shock, "Kiss? Oh wow, I didn't know it was that serious…"

"It's not." Krillin groaned, "It was just a peck on the cheek. She's just so…" He shook his head, "I know it's crazy, but I can't shake the feeling that they're different from the androids in Trunk's time. I can't stand the thought that sh-they might get destroyed before we even really know."

Rin watched his face fall and his shoulder's slump. This was eating him alive, she could tell. She hadn't known him for very long, but Krillin was definitely the sweetest out of everyone she'd met so far. Seeing him so torn up wrenched on her heart.

"Right." She said decisively, "I'm going."

"Huh?" He asked as she turned around and marched purposefully towards the shore, "What do you mean you're going? Going where? Hey, wait a minute!" He added as she waded into the sea, unmindful of her dress.

"I'm going to put a stop to this," She told him with a smile, "It's not right, none of this is. Just stay here Krillin and let me be the bad guy. You don't want to let down your friends, but I'm not just going to sit back and watch you suffer while Piccolo is hurting those androids." She scowled, "And all in the name of freaking Cell!"

"No, wait! You can't just swim there! You'll be killed!"

"I don't think the androids will hurt me Krillin, and neither do you."

"I'm not talking about the androids, I'm talking about Piccolo!" He yelled as she waded further in, "He'll flip his nut if you pitch up there!"

Rin gave nothing but a wave in reply, before swimming off with all her speed. The mere fact that Krillin did nothing but watch her leaved with a worried frown instead of flying over to her and dragging her back was all the encouragement she needed.

She didn't know what it would mean for her relationship with Cell, but there was no way she could allow the androids to become his, or Piccolo's next victims. She would swim over to the island and put an end to the fight. All she needed to do was follow the explosions.

* * *

She managed to make it to the island in less than ten minutes, but the strain on her body was evident. She had put all of her energy into the trip, and her arms and legs wobbled, objecting to their brief career as a substitute speed engine. By the time she arrived, her glasses were splattered with water and there was nothing dry for her to wipe them with, so she settled for a short burst of ki, evaporating the water. She wasn't about to use ki on drying her whole body, not when she had no idea how much she'd need to use in the next few minutes.

She spotted the battling forms of Piccolo and android 17 immediately. They were going at each other on the ground a few meters away, and hadn't seemed to notice her presence yet. Androids 16 and 18 were watching the fight with interest, but not interfering.

It was now or never. She gasped in horror as Piccolo drew back his fist, looking about ready to knock 17's head off.

"STOP!" She cried, before launching forward to intercept Piccolo's punch. The namek's shocked face was the last thing she saw before she closed her eyes and braced herself for the blow. She heard 17's gasp, and Piccolo's grunt before all went silent. Opening her eyes she yelped at the green fist an inch from her face, before stumbling back.

"Rin," Piccolo growled, "What the hell are you doing here?" he took in her sopping wet clothes and frowned, "You swam all the way out here?"

"Who _are_ you?" 17 grumbled from behind her, and Piccolo's eyes darted over her shoulder before he grabbed her upper arm and was flying to the other side of the battle ground. Rin swallowed as he bravely put his back to 17, exposing himself and shielding her from the androids view.

"Are you insane?" He immediately asked, more than a little anger quite evident. She flinched fearfully, wary of the hand that still gripped her with a firmness that was more painful than reassuring, "Never mind why you did it, but do you know what would have happened to you if that blow had landed?"

"I know…" she whispered, Krillin's warning replaying in her head, "Piccolo, please, you're hurting me."

"Hurting you?" The namek scowled, "This is nothing compared to what could have just happen thanks to your stupidity and recklessness!"

But, she did feel his grip lessen at that, and she breathed a calming breath.

"Now tell me. Why are you here?"

"I'm here because you're going about this the wrong way!" She cried, staring up at him determinedly, "You're trying to kill these two instead of helping them!"

Piccolo's eyes widened in shock, and his mouth fell open, "Wha- help them? They're androids! Even if Cell wasn't around, I'd still be trying to destroy them."

"Why?" She whispered, "Look at them! They're just kids, like me! You should be protecting them. Isn't that what you Z fighters are about?"

Piccolo was scowling once again, "Look, I don't have time to bring you up to speed, but these two are just as dangerous as Cell. They're the whole reason Trunks came back from a tarnished future – to warn and help us put an end to them."

"But they're not the ones that have been killing people – Cell is!" _'And if I can still care about him, despite all that…' _she thought_,' I sure as Kami can still care about a couple of teenagers that got in with the wrong crowd…'_

"This is none of your business. Why don't you swim back to Kami House and get a ride home, because nothing you say is going to change what needs to be done. These three need to be destroyed."

"Nothing I say, huh?" Rin muttered, feeling a rare spark of anger, "You haven't even warned them about him yet, have you?" Ignoring the suddenly desperate look on his face, she yanked herself from his grip and called over his shoulder, "Number 17. Please come here, we need to speak to you!"

She squeaked in fear when 17 all but teleported in front of her, and the look on his face was promising a swift demise, "You better have an explanation for interrupting my battle, little girl. I wouldn't even tolerate that from 18." His voice, she noted, has a soft, melodious note to it that was decidedly pleasant on the ears, even if the iciness of his eyes certainly dulled the warmth.

"She has nothing to do with this, she was just leaving," Piccolo growled over her, looking on the verge of attacking her to get her out of the way.

"I-I do, I promise!" She hurriedly exclaimed, backing away from the namek warily, "Don't you dare hit me Piccolo, you have no right." The mutinous look on his face suggested that he disagreed. Her eyes darted to the left, where she saw 16 and 18 making their ways towards them.

"What's going on, 17," the female android asked, coming to land besides her partner. Rin was immediately enthralled by the beauty of the two of them, yet another thing to be intimidated by.

"The human was about to explain that to me."

Piccolo realized that with the other three androids around, knocking Rin unconscious wasn't the best course of action. He had no idea how they might react to that, and his conscience didn't like the idea of leaving her defenseless while he battled 17, at the mercy of his siblings. At this point, he realized that it would be best to keep silent and listen.

"Look," she said hurriedly, "I came here because Piccolo was going about this all the wrong way. I'm not his enemy, but I'm not yours either so...so please don't get violent."

"Why does everyone around here seem to think that we're mindless killers?" 17 asked benignly, leaning down and giving her a chilling smile, "We only play with those who want to, or those who get in our way."

Her eyebrow twitched nervously, "Well, I'm not interested in either, in case you were wondering. I came here to help - no, to warn you. You and your girlfriend need to get out of here and hide as soon as possible! I don't know if Piccolo mentioned, but there's another android named Cell that's after you two."

"Another An-?"

"I'm _not_ his girlfriend." 18 cut over her partner, "I'm his twin sister."

17 seemed amused by his sister's annoyance. Rin looked between the two and could have kicked herself. Krillin would be chuffed, that was for sure.

"O-oh! Of course, I'm so sorry! I totally see the resemblance. No wonder you look so cute together - you're a matching set!"

Piccolo felt like he was losing himself in an arbitrary nightmare.

17 grinned, and 18 seemed somewhat mollified. 16, meanwhile, stared at Rin intensely.

"Tell us more about the other android. Tell us about Cell."

"Oh...well, he's big and green and has a long tail that he uses like a needle to suck out people's insides, which I'm pretty sure is what he plans to do to you."

"Hmmm...So, Piccolo with a tail." 17 chuckled.

"No! _Not_ Piccolo with a tail." The namek shouted angrily. Rin nodded in agreement.

"Cell is much scarier. According to Piccolo, he was incredibly strong when they fought, and since he's been absorbing people he's probably grown a lot stronger."

"Sounds like a creep to me," 18 said, "We should teach him a lesson. He's giving androids a bad name."

"Don't hurt him!" She exclaimed, before realizing what she had said. The three androids and Piccolo looked at her like she was insane, which, she reflected, she probable was, "I mean...getting into a fight with Cell is a really bad idea. You don't know how powerful he is compared to you."

"What is your relationship to Cell?" 16 asked, out of nowhere. Rin felt herself grow pale.

"My r-relationship? I-well...we really don't...it's not like we're still friends-I mean..." She wanted to jump back into the sea, "I knew him for a while, when he was still a...I dunno, a cocoon I think. I didn't know what he was back then, but when he hatched he killed _everyone._"

She felt the familiar prickling of guilt start to form in her gut. Not because she felt that she was responsible for the people Cell had killed - how was she supposed to know he was a murderous android? - but rather because she knew, deep down, that if she had to do it all over again, she wouldn't change a thing. She wouldn't have killed Cell, and she wouldn't have saved those people. But...that didn't mean that she couldn't step up and save anyone else from him.

"So please, you three, go hide somewhere. Cell should be on his way right now!"

"If that's the case, then we'll fight him." 17 said confidently.

"You can't! He could be too strong, and if he absorbs you, he'll become even stronger!"

"I see..." 18 commented, "You're only doing this because you don't want Cell to get stronger."

Rin shook her head, "If that were the case then I would have helped Piccolo destroy you. I'm doing this because I don't want anyone else to get hurt because of Cell, and because I have a friend who agrees with me and wishes he could help you. The others don't think you're worth saving, but you have to be! For Kami's sake, you're my age! And you're not mindless robots, you have thoughts and personalities, I can tell! I don't want you to die!"

Three pair of pale blue eyes stared down at her in shock. 18 felt an uncomfortable sensation in her throat.

"Touching as your sentiments may be, we're not going to ju-"

"D-don't you understand?" She cried, grabbing the young man's shoulders and shaking him, to his surprise. Desperation was displayed brightly on her face, "He's going to kill you! You have to hide, please!"

Something in her eyes must have disquieted him, because 17 clenched his jaw and averted his gaze, "I get that you're concerned, Little One, but this is really none of your business. 18 and I can take care of ourselves. Why don't you run along back home now, before I get angry?"

18 watched the display with a frown, confused as to how the girl had gotten involved. She had no data on her, and yet she seemed to know about them. Even more confusing was her blatant worry about her and her brother's well-being. Piccolo himself was a bleeding heart, though he tried to hide it, and would much rather solve the problem by destroying them. Not that there was much chance of that, but still...

It was kind of...nice.

17 looked down into the wide green-brown eyes, wondering why in Kami's name a human was shedding tears for him. He was beginning to get frustrated by the emotion she was displaying, unable to understand _why_ she cared so much.

"17," He sighed as Android 16's robotic voice sounded out, "Perhaps we should heed the human's warning. We do not know how powerful this 'Cell' is. He will be unable to sense us if we hide now, and observe him for ourselves."

With a scowl, 17 grabbed the small wrists that were annoyingly still pressed against his shoulders, and shoved the girl to the ground, aware that Piccolo tensed at the action "There's absolutely no reason to do that. _I_ am the ultimate android, and if Cell does try anything, I'll destroy him."

"But Dr. Gero made him specifically so he could defeat you!" Rin said, getting to her feet, "A-and…" _'Please forgive me guys'_, "And there's a remote-"

"Rin!"

"That's designed to shut down your power so that you'll be defenseless and easy to destroy, or absorb!" She practically garbled it out, taking yet another step away from Piccolo, who was looking both furious and betrayed.

Rin realized she had struck a nerve when 17 and 18 locked eyes for a moment, and something passed silently between the two of them, "So there!" She cried, "You both need to get away, now!"

17 narrowed his eyes, and a hand shot out, grabbing her by the throat unexpectedly, "I'm getting tired of you trying to order us around, human." He said softly, watching as she choked, eyes squeezing shut and mouth gasping for air.

Piccolo growled and took a step forward, ready to intervene, when 18 beat him to it.

"Let her go, 17," she said, sounding bored, "Maybe she has a point."

The dark haired android met his sister's gaze before sighing, gently releasing the human. "Fine. But enough talk of hiding or other nonsense. If Cell is a threat to us, we need to face and destroy him."

"But what if he's too strong?" Rin asked massaging her throat warily.

"What's the alternative?" 17 asked, "Spend the rest of our very long lives hiding from a monster?"

"I don't think so..." 18 muttered.

"An ambush is the wisest course of action," 16 said firmly.

"A-ambush?" Rin bit her lips, wringing her hands helplessly. All she had wanted was to get the androids away from Cell, not set him up to be potentially killed by them. That was the last thing she wanted. Couldn't they all just...separate and be safe on opposite sides of the world? "No, you-"

"Enough, human." 17 said sharply, "Your information seems to have been somewhat useful, which reminds me. Do you know where Goku is?"

"Goku?" She whispered, realizing that by that point nearly all the blood had drained from her face, "No, I don't..."

"You're a terrible liar."

She took a frightened step back, "I'm not...lying."

"Tut, tut, Pinnochio. It would be a shame to have to force it out of you.

"I-I-!" Goku had in fact mentioned the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, but she couldn't allow herself to tell them that.

"That's enough," Piccolo placed a hand on her shoulder, once again pushing her behind him, "If you're going to ignore the fact that she just risked her life in order to save yours, then at least pick on someone your own size. I for one would love for you to give me a reason to continue our fight."

Android 17 and Piccolo stared each other down silently, each tensing up and narrowing their eyes.

None of them noticed the way Rin froze, horror-stricken at what she was seeing over Piccolo's shoulder.

"P-P-P-Piccolo!" She squeaked, one hand curling into the fabric of his gi, the other pointing at the green figure that had just arrived, "It's Cell. He's here."

* * *

A/N: DUN DUN DUN! Okay, I decided that I really need to get this fic off my plate. Seriously, I have real life crap to deal with and I can't get this freaking thing out of my head. Usually when I have more important stuff to deal with I abandon my fics, but oh no, not this one...

So I've decided that I am NOT going to waste time writing stuff that I don't care about. I'm pretty sure that all of us just want to get to the good stuff with Cell and Rin, so I'm not going to bother re-writing the whole bloody season. If that disappoints you, my apologies, but I just don't have the time.

This chapter was pretty fun to write. I hope most of you get the TFS abridged reference in there. 'Cat loves food' is my ring tone. Bitchin' xD

As you can probably tell, I really enjoy the androids. I was SO depressed when 17 died. He was pretty... *sigh*. I also enjoyed writing Rin's inner thoughts, particularly in relation to Cell. It's so sad...she just wants her bestie back. Well, she's going to have to go through hell and back to get him, I can tell you that.

Okay, **Thomas Drovin**, this chapter is officially dedicated to you. I mean, I just sat there gaping at my inbox as review after review poured in. Holy crap dude, I nearly started crying.

Stay frosty people, and please drop a review. Author out!


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8:**

* * *

Cell might have been furious, were he not so amused. There were his precious androids, his beloved siblings. Beside them was Piccolo, the foolish namek who had tried to take them away. And cowering behind him was Rin, who had somehow found the courage to crawl out of her hiding place and, in an ill-founded burst of goodwill, warn the twins about him. She was wearing different clothes, a Chinese dress that was definitely the most feminine thing he had ever seen on her, hugging her figure and shining wetly. Water was dripping off of her in little rivulets, her hair darkened and framing her face in snug, messy tangles. She had swum to get here. Oh, she was an interfering little nuisance, but somehow it made everything so much sweeter. The androids knew of him now, and had been given a chance to accept their purpose in life. He could already taste them on his lips.

Somehow, all of his worries concerning Rin faded into the background. Why on earth had he ever bothered putting thought into such trivial matters? Why, when before him, close enough to touch, lay his destiny?

He hopped down from his perch on the towering rock, smiling a truly pleased smile. Every doubt seemed to fall away with the realization that right here, at this moment, was where he was meant to be. Nothing seemed to matter next to the thought that soon, he would reach his completed perfection.

* * *

Rin watched Piccolo engage Cell in battle with all the joy of a woman in front of a speeding train. Android 17 just watched in shock as the namek appeared to have little to no effect on the gleeful bio-android, no doubt weighing up what that meant for him. They traded blows and blasts, turning yet more of the battleground into rubble. Rin shuddered in horror each time Piccolo took one of Cell's crushing hits, feeling her heart break at the sight of the proud warrior being beaten into submission.

Piccolo was such an enigma to her. He was grumpy and isolated, and yet an intelligent and competent leader. He had put his own life at risk to save her so many times, and despite herself she had found the seeds of affection blossoming. Perhaps she just had a taste for antisocial green men, but she could feel in her gut that Piccolo was a good man and a loyal friend. Seeing him hurt was nauseating.

However, she realized that there was nothing she could do to stop it, and so she instead busied herself by ensuring that his pain would not be for nothing. Scrambling forward, she tugged relentlessly on Android 17's white undershirt, her knuckles turning white, "Hey, come on! Don't just stand there staring, grab your sister and the big guy and let's get out of here!"

It was like talking to a wall. 17 just continued to gape at the gruesome scene, mouth open in stunned fear, ignoring her completely. It was when 17 gasped, muttering; "Oh no. Piccolo…" that she turned to glance at Cell. She screamed at what she saw.

"PICCOLO!" The namek was held aloft in Cell's powerful grip, a large hole blasted through his side, eyes rolled back into his head. Rin released 17 and mindlessly ran forward as Cell tossed him into the sea, her only thought to reach him.

It was her fault. She had interrupted his battle. She had tried to help, and instead ended up trading in 17's life for Piccolo's. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she ran, her eyes trained on the green hand that slowly sunk underwater.

She had almost reached the shore when her path was blocked. She ran squarely into the hard chest that appeared in front of her, her forehead bouncing off the green armour with a loud thud. She was knocked back, landing in the sand with loud yelp, eyes travelling up in fear.

"Rin…" Cell hissed, "Once again I find you in my way. You seemed destined to annoy me."

Trembling, she licked her lips and whispered, "Technically, you're the one in _my _way. Please, I need to get to…" She trailed off, realizing that there was little to no chance that he gave a crap. She whimpered.

"Ah…What to do with you now?" He asked, leaning down and narrowing his eyes, "Send you to join your new namekian friend? Or perhaps…" His hand shot out, hoisting her off the ground and into the air by the scruff of her neck. She hung limply, tears continuing to fall, fully expecting him to blast her the same way he had blasted Piccolo. She clenched her eyes shut, hoping to Kami that it wouldn't be painful. Maybe he would be merciful and do it quickly? But…she didn't want to die – not like this! She was supposed to have the chance to resurrect their friendship, saving lives in the process. She wouldn't even get a chance to say goodbye to her grandparents. Oh Kami, to be killed by her best friend in cold blood – she could think of no worse way to have her life ended. She needed to look him in the eye as he did it. She wanted with all her heart to say that she died bravely, perhaps giving Cell one hard punch to the face as her farewell (or maybe one last hug – he wouldn't see _that_ one coming…). But she would settle for letting him watch the light in her eyes fade, and hope that the image haunted him for the rest of his immortal life.

She could feel her pulse racing and she forced her eyes open, locking them with Cell's. Why did they have to look so familiar, bringing back every wretched memory she held of them? It wasn't fair! She was too young for it to end like this, held in such an undignified manner by Cell's clawed hands, her feet swaying in the air so far off the ground. Alive, she was alive and she wanted to stay that way!

Surprisingly, however, her tormented thoughts were brought to a halt as Cell strolled casually past 17, holding her in front of him like a wet kitten. His knuckles dug into her chest with every step, the pressure having more weight than a mountain. She didn't once move her gaze from his, all of her confusion and fears no doubt on clear display. When he stopped before a large tree and dropped her unceremoniously to the ground, she looked up at him with a wrinkled brow, wondering what exactly he was planning. She choked on a winded cough when his foot shoved against her chest, slamming her painfully up against the bark.

So, it wouldn't be quick then. His actions indicated he was going to take his time. How awful.

But then he smirked down at her and spoke, "Why don't you wait right here, enjoy the view? I'm sure we can continue with our reunion once my business with the androids is complete." Chuckling, he turned away, not sparing her another glance.

She watched his retreating back approach 17, shaking furiously, relief and more dread flooding her system. She had been so certain she was about to die and it had been the most horrid, empty feeling. She never wanted to experience that again. She wanted to run from her little designated spot and dive back into the ocean without looking back. What was he planning? Why hadn't he killed her?

She could only guess. With the androids around, he must not consider her worth the effort. She was no threat to him, like Piccolo, and he had bigger, more important fish to fry. But what about later, if he managed to get to the androids? What would he do to her then?

She _couldn't_ think about that now or give in to her cowardice. She had to get to Piccolo.

She waited, unmoving, as Cell commenced his battle with 17, forcing herself to calm down. She had been faced with potential death at his hands twice already, she should really have gotten used to it. Was that something you _could_ get used to? She had a feeling she would have no choice but to try. Right then was not the right time to have an emotional breakdown. Important things were happening, and she needed to play her part. With that thought, the tremors slowly died away and her breathing regulated. She watched the battle with a strategic mind, driving off the need to cringe every time 17 got pummelled.

She felt pity for the android, but she was also angry. Piccolo might have been killed, and all he had done was stand there and gape, making his sacrifice all for nothing. She watched impatiently, waiting for a moment when she was sure that Cell would be too absorbed in his battle to notice her.

The moment came when Cell had 17 pinned down, his needle-like tail suddenly expanding into a funnel shape and engulfing 17's head. She was certain that the young android was a goner. Saddened but realizing that there was nothing she could do, she got ready to make her move towards Piccolo. And then Android 16 came out of nowhere and knocked Cell into the dirt.

She hadn't seen _that_ coming. Cell's focus was now entirely on the large, red haired man and Rin, making the best of the unexpected turn of events, wasted no time in making a dash for the shore.

A hand grabbing her wrist nearly made her scream, her buggered nerves barely held in check until she recognized Tien, "Hey," she let out a soft, calming sigh, "When did you get here?"

"I came as soon as Krillin fessed up that you were here. Come on, let's go get Piccolo."

She nodded, pleased by the company of someone else on her team. The pair jumped into the water, each making a bubble of air around their heads with their energy, searching around frantically for Piccolo's body.

"There!" Rin cried after a while, rushing forward until she touched the ocean floor, wrapping her small arms around the unconscious namek's form. She nodded to Tien, "Got him!"

They rose to the surface, Rin immediately pulling Piccolo's head above water. The namek was unresponsive, however, and she and Tien hoisted him onto the shore where he collapsed in a wet heap.

"Look!" She pointed at the smooth, exposed skin that had once been nothing but charred flesh, "His injuries have healed. But he's not breathing," she ran an agonised finger over the place where the namek's wounds had been, the thought that he might be too far gone causing her chest to ache painfully, "He probably has water in his lungs."

"Yeah, namekian's can regenerate, but I have no idea how you're supposed to heal water out of your body." Tien said grimly, his hand on Piccolo's shoulder.

That didn't sound at all possible. He would be unable to make it through without help. Rin squared her jaw, "Don't worry, I know what to do. My grandpa taught me how to do CPR."

With that, she shoved the namek onto his back, following the procedure carefully, locking lips and breathing air into his mouth, pumping his chest. _'Come on Piccolo, don't leave us…you're too good a person to die like this. It should have been me.'_

It was several minutes, just as she was starting to give up hope, before Piccolo lurched forward, water spraying from his mouth. He coughed relentlessly, leaning onto his side and emitting several more streams of ocean.

"You did it!" Tien grinned.

"That's it Piccolo," she said encouragingly, concern etched into her features, rubbing his back soothingly, "Get it all out. You can do it."

"Oh crap," Tien muttered, his eyes on the scene in front of him "This isn't good. Cell's got 17!"

"What!" Rin cried, "But 16 was just…" she trailed off as her eyes landed on 16 in the distance. He was watching in horror as Cell slowly engulfed the younger android. She screamed unashamedly and shielded her eyes at the blinding flash of light that erupted, hiding Cell from view. She buried her head into Piccolo's neck, holding around his stomach to prevent him from getting blown away. Tien dived in front of them, shielding them from the flying bits of rubble that exploded outwards from Cell's position.

There was chaos for a while, and then everything went quiet. It was several moments after the dust had settled before she realized that she needed to look up. She needed to see what had happened.

But that felt like opening the closet at night, knowing that the monster would be inside. She shivered against the icy ocean breeze that brushed against her wet skin, fearfully tightening her hold around Piccolo's waist. Slowly, reluctantly, Rin raised her head, looking over Tien's shoulder.

She froze.

There was no mistaking him. It was definitely Cell, and yet he had changed. His wings were gone and he was even larger, if that were possible. Several sections of his armour had darkened, looking almost black. Gone were his adorable three-toed feet, and in their place were odd boots that seemed welded into his skin. His tail had grown longer and thicker, changed to black and orange. Even more frightening was the crackling aura of electricity that surrounded him. Even with her inability to sense powerlevels, the sparks that jumped over her skin, pinching the nerves, were enough to make her realize that Cell had just become a _lot_ stronger.

It was Piccolo slumping over in her arms, almost knocking her over, that tore her out of her near trance-like state. She shook the unconscious namek, "Oh no, please wake up Piccolo. Please don't die…"

"There's nothing more we can do for him now," Tien told her, "We have to leave him. He'll be fine. You need to get 18 away from Cell before he can absorb her!"

"What about you?" She whispered, watching the three-eyed warrior get to his feet.

"I'm going to keep Cell busy while you escape."

"Tien…" that sounded like a suicide mission.

"Look. It seems 16 had the same idea."

She frowned, seeing that the red haired giant had indeed grabbed hold of 18's arm and was pulling her away from Cell, right in their direction. She yelped when Cell flew right over the pair's heads, appearing only a stone's throw away, blocking their escape.

When Cell slowly turned, looking over his shoulder, her blood turned to ice. But he didn't even appear to have noticed them. He walked away from the androids, calmly making his way to her side, kneeling beside her and grinning at his reflection in the water. His proximity made her heart falter.

"Ahh, a much better look," his eye's finally slid over to meet hers, "Wouldn't you agree?"

He was so terribly close, close enough to reach out and touch. His face _had_ changed; his beak replaced by fleshy lips and his cat-like pink eyes now the same ghostly blue as 17. His voice was no longer the sibilant growl-hiss it had been. He sounded like a regular human with a severely blocked nose. Given that his nose was nowhere to be seen, that made sense.

"I liked the other one better," she said, barely realising she had spoken out loud until he was laughing.

"Did you?" He chuckled, "Well, not to worry. Absorbing 18 should have a similar effect. Perhaps my next look will change your mind?" He glanced at the unconscious Piccolo, who she shifted in front of protectively, uncertain eye's watching him for any signs of attack, "Naughty girl. Didn't I tell you to remain seated and watch? I'll have to punish you later."

_What?_

She felt her cheeks heat up at that comment as he got to his feet. Where had _that_ come from? She was no expert, but that had sounded more playful than threatening. 17 had changed him, alright, and she was sure she didn't like it. He seemed…so much less refined, more aggressive and rough around the edges. The Cell she knew was eloquent and-and just generally less abrasive. He seemed to have inherited the android boy's brash teenage qualities.

He had barely turned around before 16 was punching him in the face. The air around Cell flew backwards at the force of the blast, but to her amazement, he didn't even budge an inch. Seconds later, 16 was blasted away, flying across the battleground.

As Cell and 18 engaged in conversation, Tien grabbed Rin's wrist, whispering in her ear, "You know what you need to do."

She nodded, rising up beside him. She waited for Tien to fly into the air, positioning himself, before launching forward, speeding around Cell and grabbing 18 around the waist, throwing her over her shoulder. Feeling an odd sense of déjà vu, she softly squeaked, "Sorry, sorry, sorry!" to the flabbergasted young woman.

"Rin! What do you think you're - !" Rin winced, fearing an attack, but Cell didn't have a chance to finish before Tien roared out:

"TRI-BEAM!" and he was smashed into the ground by an insanely potent blast that carved away a large square into the earth. She squashed the niggling horror she felt at the thought that Cell might have been disintegrated, and was rewarded with an enraged scream echoing up through the crater, suggesting that he was very much alive, and well enough to be _pissed_. Absently, Rin questioned the logic of a square shaped attack being labelled the 'tri-beam'. Her silly grin was wiped off when 18 regained her senses and started struggling.

"Let go!" 18 commanded, digging her knee into Rin's stomach. She choked, doubling over as 18 landed gracefully in front of her, "No-one manhandles me, you got that?"

She nodded, falling to one knee and grimacing in pain. For a little lady, she packed quite the wallop, "Okay. But you need to go. Now! I don't know how long Tien will be able to hold him off."

18 eyed her for a moment as she clutched her stomach, looking on the verge of saying something, before nodding, hurrying to 16's side. Rin followed, doing her best not to stagger. Besides, the large android was in far worse shape than her, and he was handling himself like a champ. Half of 16's head had been blasted off and yet he still found the good humour to smile gently at the pair of them as they stopped in front of him.

"18, no," he said, "You must…leave without me. I do not think…I can fly…"

Rin bit her lip, placing a soft hand on his arm. She hadn't given much thought to the older android, as he had seemed fairly cold and robotic, but seeing how he had protected 18 made her reconsider her earlier judgments, "Come on, big guy, you can do it!"

16 grinned sheepishly as he was helped to his feet, "I'm afraid that I am too damaged." '_Not to mention'_, Rin thought, '_he has the sweetest darn smile.'_

"Well I'm not leaving you here," 18 said firmly, her blue eyes narrowing in a way that suggested he better not argue further, pulling his arm over her shoulder, "Let's go."

"Wait." 16 said, before frowning at Rin, "What about you? Cell will kill you when he breaks free."

Touched by his concern and disconcerted by his words, Rin stared down at the ground despondently, "Sorry, I don't know how to fly. I'll just be more dead weight to you guys."

She squeaked as 16's large, iron-clad arm grabbed her, pulling her to his side. He smiled down at her, "I do not think that next to me, your weight will mean much to 18."

18 growled impatiently, "Come _on!_" before rising into the air, flying as fast as she could.

Rin looked back at Tien, who was still sinking blast after blast down upon Cell.

'_I'm so sorry, Tien. You're a good man.'_

* * *

They had been resting on the new island for almost twenty minutes.

Rin stared in wonder at android 16, who was stroking the squirrel on his leg so tenderly, the softest expression on his face. 18 hadn't hesitated to voice her disgust at this, but Rin personally thought it was incredible. She had lived in the forest her whole life, and _never_ had she witnessed this amount of friendliness from its creatures.

"I'm sorry about your brother, 18," she said, her heart truly going out to her. To think, she had at one point been happy at the idea of Cell absorbing them. It made her sick with herself.

18 glared at her for a moment, before saying shortly, "17 was a good person. All he ever wanted was to live life to its fullest, and Cell took that away from him. Saying sorry won't change that."

Rin opened her mouth to reply.

"_18! COME OUT NOOWW! I WILL FIND YOOOUU! GIVE UP NOW, 18, OR ELSE! IF YOU DO NOT SHOW YOURSELF, I WILL DESTROY THESE ISLANDS ONE AFTER ANOTHER UNTIL I FIND YOU!"_

Rin and 18 both hunched over, covering their ears as Cell continued with a volley of threats and demands.

"_RIIIN! IF YOU DO NOT REVEAL TO ME YOUR LOCATION, I PROMISE YOU YOUR DEMISE WILL BE THE MOST AGONISING I CAN CONCEIVE! YOU WILL SUFFER A DEATH TOO HORRIBLE FOR YOUR PUNY MIND TO COMPREHEND!"_

18 tried to sneak a glance at her from the corner of her eye, but Rin noticed immediately. Realizing she probably needed to reassure her before 18 turned her into a pile of Rin-shaped dust, she took a seat beside 16.

"_RIIN! YOU LITTLE BRAT! I WILL SQUASH YOU!"_

"Well, that's nice…" Rin muttered, doing her best to ignore the terror that threatened to overtake her, "But not exactly encouraging. You know, he always knew exactly what to do to push my buttons and manipulate me. It seems absorbing 17 has made him forget all about that. Subtlety is dying a quick death…"

If Cell really wanted to get a rise out of her, he should have done something like threaten to go after her grandparents. But his agile mind was being given a wedgie by his ego and lust for power.

A loud explosion followed Cell's next threat, a red dome of energy appearing in the distance. And then another, and then another.

"Crap, he's actually going through with this!" She cried, curling up against 16's arm protectively.

"Yes. Those blasts are not strong enough to kill 18. Everything else will die, but she will survive."

'_Great. And if by some miracle Cell doesn't blow me up along with the island, I'll be faced with a more personal death. I should have just gone to high school.'_

* * *

If not for Vegeta's timely arrival, she was pretty sure she'd be nothing more than ash in the wind. There weren't many islands left, and Cell had seemed pretty determined to blow them all to smithereens.

He was a grumpy-butt at times, but she promised that one day she would give the Prince her utmost thanks. 18 seemed shocked that he had developed so much power, and Rin remembered that she had recently knocked Vegeta around with little effort. It must have been as a result of the Time Chamber, but she wasn't going to mention it – not with a couple of Goku assassins around. Not that she though they'd be able to do much with that information. She had gathered from Krillin that Vegeta would vehemently refuse to allow anybody to harm Goku, which she thought was sweet and a bit out of character.

There was probably more to that story as well…

In any case, she was somewhat distressed by the way Vegeta was tossing Cell around like a doll. Despite everything, she couldn't stand watching him get hurt.

So she turned away.

* * *

"Krillin!" Rin exclaimed, before the monk crushed his heel through the controller, destroying it. The two androids and Rin stared at him with varying expressions of surprise. Krillin's eyes slid over to hers and his serious expressions softened somewhat.

"Hey. Good to see you're still okay, Rin."

"Why would you do that?" 18 asked, "You're letting me go?"

Krillin blushed, "I-uh, well..."

Rin stepped in, "Remember when I said earlier that I had a friend who didn't want you to get hurt either? Well, this is him. He's single, you know."

"Huh?"

Krillin slapped his palm against his forehead, "Ayayaye…Look, Cell is hot on your tail and you have to get out of here!"

"HEY! CELL KNOWS YOU'RE HERE!"

All eye's snapped to the sky, landing on Trunks and Cell, whom were both looking straight down at them.

"Oh no…" Rin whispered.

* * *

She took it back. She promised that one day she would punch Vegeta in the groin.

As Trunks continued to face his father up in the air, 16 took a protective stance in front of her, 18 and Krillin. Before them, in all his self-satisfied glory, stood Cell.

He let out a cold chuckle, "From the looks of it, 16, I'd say your batteries are running low."

She was trying not to cower, she truly was. 18 was the real target, not her, so why did she feel as if a large portion of Cell's malevolence was being thrown in her direction? Oh he was mad alright…And all of his anger was being sent one way.

Krillin attacked without warning, unleashing and impressive volley of punches at Cell's face. All in vain however and soon Cell had easily swatted him aside with his tail. Krillin flew into the adjacent cliff with a grunt.

"Ratbag," Cell muttered before getting hammered in the face by 16's detachable rocket-arm. Rin watched hopelessly as 16 fell next, all of his attacks proving fruitless. It was her turn to step up, even though she realized it would be no use. She couldn't be the only one that didn't try.

She stepped bravely in front of android 18, and Cell's eyes came to land on her. If he wanted to get to 18, he would have to forcibly remove her. His lip curled up in a snarl and his tail lashed forward, batting her aside. She rolled over the ground, allowing herself to move with his momentum to prevent injury, coming to a stand and sinking into a fighting stance.

"You." Cell scowled, "You've inconvenienced me for the last time." His palm came forward and a blast erupted mercilessly. She screamed and did her best to dive out of the way, but the force of the blast sent her flying, crashing into one of the nearby mountains. She was buried in rubble, unable to move.

'_But he's supposed to be my friend…'_

A large rock smashed into her skull and she knew no more.

* * *

Cell left Trunks with that deliciously flabbergasted look on his face, flying over some of the other surviving islands. His perfection…it was so much sweeter than he had ever imagined. His purpose had been realized, his destiny attained. Everything was as it should be. If only the good doctor could see him now!

As he flew over the water, he glanced down, admiring his new body. Android 18…what a lovely girl. She had given him the gift of good looks, as well as power. He hoped she was enjoying her stay, wherever she was inside him.

But, something was niggling at the back of his mind, a feeling he didn't particularly enjoy. It was at odds with the balance and tranquillity of his perfection. He somehow sensed that there was unfinished business…but with whom?

Of course! It came back to him like a damn breaking. The pesky little brat that had been glued to his side for so many years. Her name…ah yes, Rin. How on earth had he forgotten about her? Somehow, in the aftermath of his ultimate victory, she had completely slipped his mind. But he remembered her now…The sweet little girl whom he had used so shamelessly in his quest. He had shattered her world so completely it made him want to howl with mirth, though he contained himself effortlessly, releasing only a tiny smirk. What a delightful little game she had been!

Oh dear, he had lost his temper with her rather easily. Blasting her into that mountain had felt so _good_, but he couldn't help but wonder if it hadn't done only half the job.

He laughed – what a shame it would be, if he left without saying goodbye. She would see what had become of her darling friend Cell before he gave her a proper send off into the next life.

He descended unto the massive pile of rubble that was all that remained of the island where he had left her. What would it be like, he wondered, if he uncovered her dead body?

Well, that would be rather disappointing, he thought as he began walking over the jutting rocks. An anticlimactic end, which was something he simply could not abide. The androids had given him an appreciation for a bit of flare, something his imperfect form had thought a waste of time and energy. Understandable, of course, as he had been immersed in attaining his completion and had no time for the finer things in life.

Well no longer. He could play as much as he wanted, and nothing could stop him! And right now, he was ever so eager to play with Rin. She should be delighted, he thought as he combed the island for any sign of her life force, to be a part of yet another of his games, even if it would be the last.

He came to a sudden stop, glancing down at the rubble beneath his feet. He had, just for a moment, felt a small spark of life coming from down there. But it was ever so faint. Effortlessly he began shifting the rubble, levitating some with his mind and kicking some away.

And soon enough, pale, bruised limbs were revealed. He stared down at her curiously, memorising her features for what almost felt like the first time. She lay on her back, her head on its side, blonde hair hiding half her face. A thin trickle of blood fell from the corner of her mouth. A large injury on the side of her head left a section of her hair bloody and matted. Remarkably, it seemed her glasses remained un-shattered.

Her dress was torn and bloodied in places, her legs twisted behind her, bare feet poking out delicately. One arm stretched out above her head, her fingers curled inwards, the other rested over her stomach protectively. She was almost beautiful like this, broken, bleeding and most importantly – _silent._ She was so still, he wondered if she were still breathing.

It was a bit odd to see her like that, and it forced a frown to tug on his lips. Rin had always been so very…animated, to the point where it had almost driven him into a rage on more than one occasion. She would bounce around, pulling him into her carefree little world, fighting off predators with a smile, feeding him with that giddy look in her eyes. Never once had he seen her look so devoid of life.

And it had been so ridiculously easy too. One little blast that didn't even touch her flesh and she was down for the count.

The memory of the look on her face earlier came back like a kick to the stomach. After disposing of Piccolo, he had held her in the air before him, and he had seen the absolute terror and anguish in her eyes. She had trembled in his grip, tears slipping down her cheeks and fear making her lips quiver and yet she had forced herself to look at him, almost as if trying to defy him to the end. He had, for a moment, been uncertain as to his intentions. At the time half of him had been screaming to blast her, the other half reasoning to simply put her down somewhere out of the way. And it had been the sound of her tiny heart racing and the desire to live painted clearly on her face that had made him lean towards the latter. She had been good to him, he had reasoned. She didn't need to die.

Now, as he looked down at her, that thought continued to bounce around his head. No. Absolutely not. There was simply no chance of him letting her live now. She had made a nuisance of herself far too often, frolicking about with the Z fighters, hustling android 18 to safety. Refusing to reveal her location even when he screamed at her to do it.

No. She wasn't getting away with it. She wouldn't live past this encounter.

"Rin." He called, poking her on the side of the head with the tip of his foot, "Time to wake up."

'_Before I send you back to sleep…permanently.'_

* * *

A/N: Oh-ho-ho! I am so evil xD

**KRTheBlackPearl **my girl, this is dedicated to you (even though I know you're probably throwing a fit right now)

Okay!So, Perfect Cell has finally arrived (bout damn time, huh?) I am so amped. I loooovvvveee Perfect Cell. I would totally have his Cell juniors :D

This chapter was both awesome and difficult to write, I hope it had a nice flow. I just kinda breezed through a lot of it that I didn't think was terribly important. I'm sure none of you mind, considering how this ended.

So, are you all wondering how the heck she's with him at the arena in chapter one if Cell has his heart set on ending her? Well, guess away! All will be revealed in chapter 9 (well, not all, but many questions will be answered regarding chapter 1)

Oh, by the way, I'm one of those weird people who likes to have a playlist of songs for there stories, so here's mine:

Chapter 1 - Story of a Girl - 3 Doors Down. Cause...she's like, telling her story? *face-palm*

Chapter 2 - Evolution - Korn. I mean...really, this one is self-explanatory.

Chapter 3 - Let You Down - 3 Days Grace. Just kinda Cell's plans for Rin. This song makes me sad :( Also, Pet - A Perfect Circle.

Chapter 4 - Fuckin' Perfect - Pink. AHAHAHAHAHA! No, but seriously though. The song is Thank You Pain by The Agonist. I suggest you youtube that with the lyrics, chances are you wont understand it without them. Love that song so much...

Chapter 5 - Everybody's Fool - Evanescence.

Chapter 6 - Nobody's Home - Avril Lavigne.

Chapter 7 - Away From Me - Evanescence.

Chapter 8 - Whisper - Evanescence. Actually...most of evanescence's songs apply to this... o.O Just goes to show how depressing this is xD

So, enjoy and tell me what ya'll think in a review! Next chapter should come fairly soon, since I'm so freaking excited.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9:**

* * *

Someone was calling her name…

That voice – she had heard it before. As if she had known this person a long time ago, and simply forgotten. The subtle, educated accent, the rich, sophisticated tones…This man was someone dear to her, every corner of her brain was screaming such. And yet she couldn't, for the life of her, explain why she thought this.

Awareness of her body crept up on her like a black ooze on her consciousness. She felt her arms and legs, where previously there had been nothing but numbness. With the acknowledgement of her limbs came the pain, throbbing through her form. A finger twitched, her throat clenched. Something…something was prodding her on the side of the head, making her face sway to and fro awkwardly. Underneath her she could feel nothing but hard, jutting terrain that had her half buried. It felt like a grave.

Yes…a grave. Somehow, she had ended up here, awaiting death.

Memories hit her like a falling tree. The androids…Cell…Krillin. Being flung through the mountain that had then buried her alive. And that voice, which had silenced now. It seemed to be waiting for her.

Locating her eyes was a difficult task, but with a low groan, she managed to pry them open, squinting at the harsh light above her.

"Hah. I knew you were alive."

The voice spoke again…it belonged to the man standing above her. She turned her head slowly, half-lidded eyes looking uncomprehendingly at the form. Like the voice, it was so familiar, but with a face she had never seen before. It was a beautiful face. Pale white skin, with a proud, well-formed nose, firm lips and two eyes that were entirely human if not for their bright pink colour. Perhaps this man was an angel come to take her away?

"Who…" her voice sounded small and pitiful, "Are you?"

Her head continued to pound, shapes swimming before her eyes. Everything was a blur, and she was having trouble concentrating on one spot. Something wet and sticky was trickling down her forehead.

"Who am I?" He sounded affronted, and yet amused, "You don't recognise me, girl?"

The last thing she wanted was to offend this lovely man. Her lips moved, quietly mumbling the word, "Recognise…?"

"I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised, this is, after all, a remarkable improvement on my previous form. But surely your head isn't so dented that you cannot put two and two together, Rin?"

Put two and two…? She blinked slowly, her brain sluggishly looking over the man's form for clues. He wore odd, bright green armour. His boots were big and yellow. He had a weird helmet. She thought she saw the tips of wings behind him. Her brain was starting to buzz at a painful speed.

"Oh. C-Cell." She said finally, closing her eyes with a contented grin, "It's you, right?"

"Well done."

She sighed, her gaze slowly opening once more. It truly was Cell. But he was so different. He was smaller, sleeker. His armour looked newly polished. His hands were milky white, with the same black claws. He truly was glorious. She couldn't help but smile up at him, marvelling at how far he'd come. To think, he was the same as the bug-like creature she had cared for all those years. He stood now with a little smirk, arms crossed over his chest.

But wait…if Cell had changed again, then that meant that android 18 had been absorbed. That meant he had finally reached his perfection, and he was the strongest in the universe. The force of the realization had her propelling herself up into a sitting position, staring wide-eyed up at him. He seemed a bit taken aback by her sudden movement.

"Wh…what happened?" She asked him, her head swaying somewhat. He frowned down at her.

"You missed out on all the fun, that's what happened. It seems everyone has forgotten about you. What a shame," He lifted a single finger and pointed to her head, "That looks like it hurts."

She lifted one of her arms and gingerly pressed it against the side of her head, wincing in pain as she came into contact with the source of the sticky wetness. She drew her hand back, covered in red and stared at it as though entranced for a while, "Blood." She murmured.

"Yes, quite a lot of it."

"I don't like blood…it's scary."

She caught Cell shift slightly from the corner of her eyes, and wondered what that meant. Hastily putting the frightening hand behind her back, she smiled up at him, "It's just a scratch really," She felt herself grown dizzy as if to combat that ridiculous statement, "You were right. You got handsome."

"Why thank you," He said, looking pleased, "You are, of course, staring into the face of perfection."

She nodded absently. That made sense, "So you really did it then. Android 18 is gone. Who else is dead?"

"No-one. I let them go. I'm going to be hosting a tournament soon and I need them alive to partake in it."

"Oh. Well, that was nice of you." She squeezed her eyes shut, shuddering, "Blasting me into a mountain…not so much."

Cell laughed, "You should be honoured, Rin. You are, after all, going to be the first to die by my hands."

She froze, looking up at him slowly. He was just standing there, gazing down at her with a small smirk, "You're going to kill me? Right now?"

"You sound surprised."

"Well, yeah, I figured since you let everybody else get away…you were in a good mood or something." Her breath stuttered, her chest heaving in pain, something that Cell did not miss. _He_ had done that to her…How could she have forgotten? But she so badly wanted to live.

"Oh, I am. I am in a _very_ good mood. And I see this as the…_perfect_ time to get rid of the pesky little thorn that's been in my side for the past four years."

"Thorn?" she whispered, "You're wrong. We were friends."

"Friends? My dear, you are sorely mistaken. You were nothing but a pest. Constantly prattling on at my side over trivial human matters, imposing yourself upon me. I spent my days dreaming of my chance to kill you. The only reason I didn't dispose of you in your sleep was your surprising tendency to be useful."

"Useful?" Rin whispered, tears pooling in her eyes. She struggled for a moment, trying to get to her feet. Cell must have taken pity on her, because soon her hand was in his and she was pulled up delicately, swaying before him. Cell's hand returned to his side, but not before she caught a glimpse of the bright red blood that had smeared onto it. How ironic…her blood was literally on his hands. "Is that all?"

"Of course," He seemed bored now, magenta eyes staring down into her dispassionately, "Does that hurt your human feelings?"

"Yes, actually."

Cell scoffed, "Spare me. You should be proud that someone as weak as you managed even that."

"But…I shared everything with you," she was beginning to work herself up now, everything that she had wished to say to him coming tumbling out. She reached out, placing her hands on his upper arms, both to get through to him and because she feared she couldn't stand without support, "You were my best friend! I saved your life hundreds of times! Doesn't that _mean _anything to you?"

Cell scowled, clearly unimpressed with her display of emotion. His hands snaked out, gripping her by the shoulders and forcing her to release him. She hung limply in his grip, watching as he snarled at her, "It was only six, and your need to speak to me was part of the problem in the first place. What need have I for your pitiful thoughts and secrets?"

They stared each other down for a moment, Cell's sharp nails digging painfully into her skin, leaving tiny, crescent-shaped bruises. Her brow furrowed in defeat and despair, and she hung her head, breaking the connection. He was so far above her now. Beyond her reach. He would kill her without a second thought, and she would have no one but herself to blame. This had been a lie of her own making, a pretty little fantasy she had refused to let go of. Rin sagged, shoulders slumping in defeat beneath Cell's large hands, "You don't, I guess."

"Exactly," Cell said, hissed, "Now that that's out of the way, we can get to the business of disposing of you."

"…Okay." He still hadn't released her. What was he planning? To snap her neck? Blow her up? There was nothing she could do to stop him, so instead she focused on numbing herself to the situation.

"You have nothing else to say then?"

Why did he insist on dragging it out? Couldn't he just get it over with while she still had the courage to not begin sobbing in fear? "Not really…"

"No last words?"

She supposed, if she did die, she might as well leave the earth with one last act of altruism. Cell might have felt nothing for her, but there was no reason why she should let go of her feelings just because she was going to die. She would remain true to herself to the end.

"Yeah actually, um... Just that there's a patch of sweet-melons just next to the stream back home. I know those were your favourite, so I planted some for you."

His eye's narrowed, grip tightening painfully, "Sweet-melons? Your last words are about sweet-melons?"

She shrugged, and her voice broke slightly as she said, "Just thought you should know that they're there."

She cried out as she was backhanded by what felt like a train. She flew through the air, landing painfully on her side, coughing up dust as she skidded through the dirt. She heard footsteps approaching, but she didn't have the energy to move. If Cell wanted to drag this out, that was his business, but she wasn't going to participate. Her body felt battered and drained, and she had every intention of lying where she was until he forcibly moved her. Cell stopped right next to her, and she peeked through one eye to see him glaring down at her.

"Even facing death you cannot speak sensibly. You are ridiculous."

"…Sorry."

Cell rolled his eyes, "I don't have time to deal with you. I need to prepare for the Cell Games. You can die with the rest of your pathetic race when I destroy Planet Earth."

With that, he launched into the air with such speed that the ground under her dented and cracked. He disappeared into the distance.

* * *

She had been so broken.

Cell despised broken things. Imperfections were hideous, something to be destroyed or – in his case – rectified. And Rin had been undoubtedly, undeniable ruined.

Cell flew over the ocean, leaving behind him a long indent in the water as a trail, heading towards a larger body of land. And despite himself, he couldn't stop his mind from replaying his last encounter with Rin.

The feelings he had felt as she dragged herself out of her likely concussed state had been sharper than any he'd had since achieving his completion. He had felt nothing but humour, and bloodlust, toying with Vegeta and Trunks like an enthusiastic child before discarding his toys, disappointed with their uselessness. He had been so certain that she would be just another brief, gratifying experience. Another game he could enjoy before his tournament.

And yet, as she woke, all he had felt was a mild sense of unease. Her blank, uncomprehending eyes staring up at him from her place at his feet – somewhere he had longed to see her for so long – had disconcerted more than excited him. She hadn't even known who he was at first, her tiny, sad little voice asking him that insulting question.

'_Who are you?'_

Then with recognition came neither horror, nor fear, but a small, pleased smile, as if she were happy with the discovery. Happy to see _him_.

'_I don't like blood…it's scary.'_

Those words...spoken so innocently as she stared down at her life essence, sounding helpless and frightened. He revelled in fear, and yet staring down at the crown of her head, waiting for the right moment to end her life, he had felt a brief sense of…

Discomfort.

He was a killer, the ultimate killing machine in fact, and she so effortlessly disarmed him by stating the obvious truth that blood was unnerving to her. Why wouldn't it be? She was nothing like him, she didn't see it as a victory or proof of her superior strength. She saw it as pain. And all he had been able to think of was how terrified she would be at the sight of the hole he would put through her chest, more of her blood spilling forth like a crimson fountain. Would she cry? Twitch on the ground as she watched herself die, the very substance that kept her alive and that she disliked seeing so much staining the dirt around her?

'_You're going to kill me?'_

Why had she sounded so bloody shocked? Of course he would kill her, although by that point he had decided that breaking her neck would be the way of it. It had been his plan since the moment they had met, and he had already attempted it several times. So why had she made it seem as if it hadn't been coming all along? As if she truly expected him to let her live and the fact that he wouldn't was a revelation of sorts? She had just sat there, her beaten little body shuddering with the effort of staying upright, and looking up at him with those ridiculously big, worried eyes.

Cell raised his hand, eyes narrowing at the sticky red blood that had smeared onto his palm when he had pulled her to his feet. She had just been so pathetic, attempting to face up to him when her body was clearly not up to the task. So he had assisted her, allowed her to raise herself to her unimpressive height, even allowed her to place her hands on him, realizing that she would fall without the support.

'_I shared everything with you! You were my best friend! I saved your life hundreds of times! Doesn't that mean anything to you?'_

No, it meant nothing to him – _she_ meant nothing to him! As if he would allow himself to become emotionally attached to some primitive human life form! He was Cell, a god amongst the droves of inferior beings that populated the universe. What business was it of his what a silly little mortal thought or felt about him? She had been nothing but a means to an end, and her insistence on thinking otherwise had almost made him lose his temper.

'_There's a patch of sweet-melons just next to the stream back home…Just thought you should know that they're there.'_

Her last words…nothing but another attempt at befriending him. He didn't know what exactly he had bruised in her tiny head, but whatever it was had taken every last crumb of enjoyment from his game. Slapping her aside, watching her sore through the air with nothing but the utmost contempt, he had decided that she wasn't even worth the trouble of finishing off. She was an annoying red blip on his past and her attitude had sucked him dry of any enthusiasm.

And so he flew off, putting the broken girl behind him and looking ahead to the future – the day his tournament would be held. The day the world would end.

* * *

A/N: I know it's a short chapter, but I figured that was a good place to end it. Squeezing anymore angst into that would've been a mistake...xD

Okay, so this chapter didn't really go the way I planned. It was supposed to be longer and have a lot more STUFF in it, but I just got so caught up in this one little encounter and before I realized it -WHABAM! - it was over 2500 words and a lot more intense than I had originally seen it. I hope it has you guys squealing, as I personally was almost bowled over by the amount of emotion I put into this.

Pretty please with a cherry on top leave a review! I'm DYING to know what you guys thought of this one.

The song is 'I Don't Care' by Three Days Grace. Such a gorgeous, sad, beautiful song. ),:


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 (Double digits, BITCHES!):**

* * *

She had a new plan.

After her encounter with Cell, she had been rescued and fed another magic bean, her injuries healing and her mind whirring with the implications of what Cell had done – or more importantly, _hadn't_ done. Then she had been hoisted into Trunks's arms, blushing furiously and babbling her thanks in rapid-fire, before flying off to West City and taking residence in the infamous Capsule Corporation Briefs family home.

Even after the ridiculous and otherworldly events that she had been through, getting an aerial view of the most technologically prominent city on the planet still managed to make her gasp in excitement. Moreover, being escorted into the massive domed mansion that Bulma Briefs, the child scientist of legend, called her home was enough to make her weak in the knees.

"Krillin," she had hissed frantically, "You didn't tell me Bulma was _the_ Bulma Briefs! Geez, how many famous people do you know? First Yamcha and now this!"

Although…somewhere between 'time machine' and 'emergency android suspension controller', she realized she really should have figured it out.

Krillin sighed, "You're easily impressed if you think Yamcha's one-hit-wonder makes him famous. Just, whatever you do, don't tell Bulma any of that. Her head's big enough as it is."

To which Trunks had chuckled, and Vegeta had given an odd little smirk.

There, she had been pointed in the direction of the shower before looking down and realizing just how much of a mess she was. The swim over to the islands had made her thoroughly wet, meaning that all the dust and rubble that had landed on her since then had created a lovely little mud-paste on her skin. Not to mention Chi Chi's ripped dress and the blood that was generously splashed over her and clotted in her hair, even though the wounds had long since closed.

And she had been carried by _Trunks_ looking like that. Of all people, why did it have to be the ridiculously good looking one? At least he got his daddy's looks and not his personality.

In the bathroom, she had peeled off her ruined dress with a grimace and stepped into the scalding shower, spending a good half hour washing away all the gunk that covered her. The water at her feet turned a disgusting red-brown colour for a while before fading into clear. She marvelled for a while at all the nozzles and exotic soaps that were all crammed into one tiny space. Having grown up washing in rivers and only occasionally in a wooden tub if she needed to be particularly presentable, that simple shower became an adventure in and of itself.

As the water and soap suds ran over her, she took her time to think. Or, as she thought with a devious little smile, _plot_.

She had, for a heart-breaking moment, been certain that she would die. And it had sapped all of her energy, as if she were beginning to slip into death pre-emptively. In the moments after Cell had left her, before she fallen into unconsciousness, she had hit the worst emotional low of her life. Never had she felt so _hopeless_, so _utterly_ filled with despair. Living past that encounter had seemed like a chore she could hardly bare to face. Racked with agonizing pain, left abandoned in the dust, she had almost been ready to give up.

But then, as Trunks gathered her up in his arms after feeding her that little magic bean, as her instinctive reaction of become a bumbling mess in proximity to an attractive boy kicked in, she had somehow reconnected with herself.

And she had hardly been able to contain her smile the whole trip over.

How in Kami's name had she ever allowed herself to think for one second about giving in? There was so much to live for, so much humour to be found in the darkest of corners. The thought that she had been so close to falling over the edge made her want to kick herself. She may have been a coward, but she was not a person who would ever, _ever_ take life for granted. Every second that she breathed was an opportunity for laughter, or to smile at a perfect stranger, or to feel the wind in her hair. Every moment her heart continued to beat was a moment she could cherish, by telling her grandparents she loved them, or by holding the hand of a friend. Feeling embarrassment shake her core in Trunks's arms reminded her of just how precious every experience was.

And Cell…he was incapable of understanding that. He was a blind man in a world of marvellous colour. A deaf man in the midst of the music that made her want to shed tears of joy. She had no freaking idea when she had become so philosophical, but all of that made such perfect, horrible sense to her. He was the saddest creature in the universe. No one who could think about destroying worlds, tearing apart lives, had ever, for one second, truly _lived_. _He_ would never stare at a lady bug crawling up a blade of grass for hours on end, a silly smile on his face. _He_ would never feel his heart sore at the smell of fresh biscuits wafting from the kitchen. _He_ would never feel the warm tug in his belly while watching a couple embrace across the street, feeling truly glad that they had found their happiness. And…_he_ would never feel the joy of finding a friend when he'd thought himself to be all alone in the world.

And _that_, she thought with a frown, was simply unacceptable.

Based on a foundation of lies or not, Cell was still her dear one. And she would be damned before allowing him to go through life without at least once seeing the colours and hearing the music. In ten days, either the world would end or he would be defeated. She really had no say in the grand scheme of those plans. She wasn't going to delude herself into believing that she could change his mind about all that.

No. No more delusions. She wasn't going to take action based on obscure hopes. She would do this because she couldn't see a reason why she shouldn't. She would do this because it was what she desired, to spend the last few days she could with a crippled man and try to make him feel, even if only once in his immortal years, how great it was to be alive.

She wouldn't do it for earth. She wouldn't do it because of some arbitrary conclusion that it was 'the right thing to'.

She would do it for herself and a friend.

Stepping out of the shower with a rosy pink glow and youthful determination, she changed into the outfit that had been given to her, grateful for the inclusion of fresh underwear. The black tracksuit pants and red tank top were certainly closer to her style than Chi Chi's poor dress (which she would have to apologize for at some point) and as she looked at herself in the full length mirror, she couldn't help but feel that she looked maybe the teeniest, tiniest bit...attractive?

She knew she was in good shape, what with her rigorous training. Her breasts had grown to a respectable size, her hips filling out nicely. She was still tragically short, barely even taller than Krillin, but at least she didn't look awkward and underdeveloped anymore. Her hair had grown longer and less coarse and spiky, taking on a silky sheen (although that might have just been a result of Bulma's ridiculous assortment of conditioners). It was also lightening into a more vibrant, silvery blonde, which was much nicer than the almost-brown it had been a few years ago. Her face _was_ pretty, in a simple way. And even though her muddy-green eyes weren't the best colour, she had nice, thick lashes.

Blushing fiercely, she realized that she needed to avoid any more contact with Trunks. He made her feel unusually self-conscious. She was a mountain child, not someone who generally paid attention to looks.

From there, she returned to the living room, where she could hear the sound of laughter. As she entered, she caught sight of Trunks, whose hair in the firm grip of a small baby, held in the arms of a lovely blue-haired woman she recognised instantly.

Bulma Briefs turned her head as she entered the room and gave a welcoming smile, "Oh, hi! You must be Rin. I'm B-"

"I know," Rin cut across her with an awed grin, "You're Bulma Briefs, heir to Capsule Corporation and inventor of capsule storage," she flushed, "We learn about you in school. You're in one of my textbooks."

Across the room, Krillin once again slapped a palm to his forehead, muttering, "Oh great…here we go. What did I tell her?"

"Textbooks?" Bulma asked with a wolfish grin that was completely at odds with the delicate way she held her child, who still had a chunk of his elder counterparts hair, "Oh ho ho! You hear that Vegeta, I _told_ you I was the big cheese on this planet! You and your princely butt can suck it!"

"Woman, if you think your place as a prominent figure here impresses me, you're sorely mistaken. All _that_ does is convince me that I should have destroyed this pathetic planet when I had the chance."

Rin gaped at that, eyes widening. And for some reason, everyone in the room was either grinning or rolling their eyes in fond exasperation.

"Father," Trunks whined, having finally managed to extricate himself from his own grasp, "Is now really the time for that sort of thing?"

Vegeta scoffed and turned away, effectively ending the conversation. Bulma glared at his back before sticking out her tongue. Rin laughed nervously at the display. So, this was the power couple – the saiyan prince and the heiress. Honestly, they seemed more likely to claw each other's eyes out than make a baby.

"Anyway," Bulma sighed, flipping her hair and turning her attention on Rin, who found herself suddenly wishing she'd go back to fighting with her baby-daddy, "Just so you know, you can have access to anything you need while you're here and don't hesitate to ask for anything, 'kay?" she gave a playful wink, "After all, when you've got nothing but a bunch of dumb superheroes for friends, it's great to have some nice female company."

Rin nodded mutely, although she refrained from mentioning that she wouldn't be there for much longer.

"Oh, would you mind if I borrowed you phone quick? I just want to let my grandparents know I'm okay."

'_And say goodbye…'_

"Sure thing, it's just on the wall over there."

The phone had barely reached its third ring before it was picked up. Her Grandmothers concerned voice came over, "Hello?"

"Hi Granny."

"Rin! Oh my gosh baby, are you alright?"

"I'm fine Granny. I just wanted to call you and let you know…that I love you and Grandpa a lot, and I'm really happy that I've had you as my parents."

"We've loved raising you, sweetie. Are you sure everything's alright though? You sound a bit off."

Rin instantly pepped up her tone, "Oh, no, not at all! Things have just been a bit stressful, you know? But seriously, I'm perfectly fine. And…and I'm happy Granny. I want you to know that too. I want you to know that no matter what happens, I'm happy."

"Rin, you're making me nervous. What's happening with the monster problem? When are you coming home?"

Rin laughed, "That hasn't been resolved yet, so I don't think I'll be home for a while. I have to go now Granny. Just remember that I love you, and that I'm happy, okay?"

"Alright, I will. I love you too baby, your Grandpa as well. We miss you. Try to come home soon."

"I'll do my best. Goodbye Granny, I love you!" Rin flinched slightly at the first bald-faced lie she had told to her grandmother in a long time. She would, in fact, be making very little effort to return home. If not for her grandparents…well, they certainly made things harder emotionally.

And she'd be abandoning Bulma's anticipated friendship. She would just have to make do with Chi Chi. Speaking of…

"Chi Chi," she said, approaching the slightly scary elder woman with the tattered remains of her dress, "I'm really sorry, but this got a bit messed up…"

Chi Chi squinted at the pile of rags held out before her, and it seemed to take her a while to recognise them. When she did, she gave a soft laugh, "Oh, don't worry about it sweetie. You have no _idea_ how many outfits I've had to replace for Goku and Gohan," shaking her head she grinned, "I think I can forgive you for this one. But try to be more careful, okay?"

Rin got the sense that she was talking about more than just clothes, "Sure thing, Chi Chi. Thank you again."

Meanwhile, she became aware of a hushed discussion happening around the TV area, and she sensed that she was the topic of debate.

"I don't know old man, it's probably just 'cause she's so short. Put them on Bulma and it's a different story."

"You don't know what you're talking about, pig! I'm no rookie like you, and I'm telling you, we're talking about a C cup at least!"

Frowning, Rin turned in time to see Master Roshi and Oolong making odd cupping gestures with their hands, scrutinizing her almost scientifically. When they noticed her gaze, they instantly pulled their hands behind their backs, whistling innocently.

"One more word out of you two and I'll kick you out of here myself." Chi Chi growled, obviously having heard the conversation as well. Oolong glared mutinously.

"This 'aint your house, lady, you can't do squat!"

Rin watched with growing confusion. What had they been talking about anyway?

"Oh can't I? What if I let slip to _Vegeta_ that a couple of perverts had invaded his home and were busy talking shamelessly about Bulma's lady parts?"

Comprehension washed over her like cold water.

"We weren't talking about Bulma, we were…" At the sight of Rin's wide eyed gaze, Master Roshi trailed off, "Eh, I'm gonna watch my work out program now."

After a few seconds, Rin let out a small giggle, "They're funny."

"They're disgusting is what they are."

At Chi Chi's look of indignation on her behalf, Rin felt the warm glow in her stomach grow brighter. It was so good to laugh again. This was the atmosphere she needed to carry over to Cell – the sense of camaraderie and friendly banter.

And as if she had called out to him silently with that thought, Master Roshi and Oolong both let out squeals of fear. Rin turned to face the television, and her jaw fell open at the site of Cell casually levitating up the screen, a screaming woman balanced on his head.

Not five minutes later, everyone was gathered in front of the TV, watching with varying levels of hatred and shock as Cell made his smiling way up through every channel. As went through the Fuzzy the Bear station, Rin couldn't help but let out a small gasp at the unmasked bear.

'_Oh no! Fuzzy is a weird old man! Cell, I hope you know you're ruining my childhood right now!'_

She had always taken time to watch Fuzzy the Bear on their old, worn down television, and she had regaled Cell with their stories many times. He was no doubt proud of himself for blasting through the set.

And then Cell gave his little speech. Rin was once again enthralled by his diction, and momentarily swept away in nostalgia when he spoke for a moment in his old voice, the one she had been so used to. He explained the rules of his tournament, and she perked up a bit when he mentioned that he would try to avoid killing. Try was the operative word, but still. That gave her an idea…

As he gave the location of his arena, she nodded to herself quietly. That was where she'd be headed then. Her only problem would be getting there.

Oh, she knew _just _who to ask.

She gasped along with the others when Cell drew back his hand and destroyed a large portion of the city behind him as easily as a knife through butter.

"The tournament starts in nine days – good luck!" And with that, he flew away through the hole in the wall he had just created, chucking darkly.

Rin then sat back, deep in thought, as chaos erupted. Around her, the Z warriors had worked themselves into a tizz as she remained motionless on the carpet in front of the TV, barely even blinking. It was as Vegeta announced that _he_ would be the one to defeat Cell that she got to her feet. She followed him out the living room, waiting patiently as he entered another room and rummaged around, listening quietly as he got changed. Once she was certain that he sufficiently decent, she entered after him.

Vegeta narrowed his eyes on her as she approached. He was standing beside a bed, pulling his armour over the blue spandex suit. She leant in the doorway, meeting his glare with a silent, contemplating look.

"Something you want, girl?" He eventually growled, breaking the silence. She nodded quietly.

"Yes. I wanted to ask you a favour."

He frowned, "_You_ ask _me_ a favour? What for?"

She tossed her hair over her shoulder, meeting his eyes stubbornly. She had watched the prince for a while now, and she knew that to get him to acquiesce with her, she would need to show no weakness. He was the only one she could go to with this particular request.

"I want you to take me to him. To Cell."

That caught his attention. He paused in the middle of pulling on his white gloves, pinning her down with his scrutinizing eyes, "Get one of the others to do it then. I'm not here to please your suicidal whims, girl."

She shook her head, taking the risk of stepping over the threshold and making her way over to him. He snarled silently at the proximity, "The others would never listen. They wouldn't want me to get hurt. But you don't care about that, do you?"

He smirked, "Well, you're right about that. I don't care." Turning his back to her he lifted his feet onto the bed, pulling on one of his boots, "But the answer is still no."

It was time to pull out the clincher. She decided against doing what she normally would to coax an angry animal, and refrained from placing her hand on his shoulder – that was a one way ticket to armless-ness. Instead, she took a step back and lowered her eyes respectfully, "Please reconsider. You of all people should be able to understand. Cell took my pride. I want the chance to get it back."

It was true…sort of. But more importantly, it was exactly the right thing to say to Vegeta.

He turned back to her slowly, eyes narrowing as if trying to weed out any signs dishonestly. She kept her face mostly neutral, meeting his eyes without fear. It had to be Vegeta. No one else would be able to send her somewhere where she could meet a grisly death without it weighing on their conscience forever. She couldn't make anybody go through that. But Vegeta…he was another bowl of soup altogether.

"Your pride, eh?" Vegeta muttered, "Fine. It's a little out of the way, but who would I be to stand against such a _noble quest_?" He said it in such a mocking tone that she flinched. He moved past her, "I'm leaving in five minutes. You'd better be ready by then."

"Okay. But – Vegeta!" He paused in the doorway, "The others…please, don't tell them. They wouldn't understand."

Vegeta harrumphed before leaving without another word. She breathed a soft sigh of relief – that had been easier than expected.

"I'm coming for you, Cell," She whispered with a small smile, "Things aren't anywhere near over between us."

* * *

"So _where_ is everyone going?"

Cell stared down the group of terrified humans, stretching down along a long road. Such pathetic creatures, gathering up their measly belongings – as if migrating to a new location could possibly save them from global annihilation. What idiots.

"I have an idea. Maybe I'll join you."

He took a few steps forward. Seconds later, more screaming erupted and the humans burst from their transportation machines and scattered like ants under a boot. Cell glared after them. Somehow, his enjoyment of watching humans flee in terror had been tempered. It now brought him more anger than enjoyment. Perhaps he had simply reached a point where their sheer uselessness had become too much to be amusing.

He glowered after them before bending down and lifting the closest vehicle over his head. Low-life creatures. He would squash them all!

"You forgot _this._" And with that he hurled it through the air, aiming for it to land behind the small hill the humans had disappeared over. He smirked and waited for the coming explosion.

And waited.

He frowned, eyes widening in shock as the car came bobbing back into view. Underneath it, he could just make out a pair of legs.

"Surely not?" He muttered, flying forward, temper rising as he recognised the familiar ki signature.

'_What,'_ he asked himself as he clenched his fists, _'Does she think she's doing here?'_

Why couldn't the brat just take a hint? Was she so dense that her head would have to be _removed_ from her shoulders before she understood that the thought that her presence repulsed him?

Thoroughly annoyed, he appeared in front of her. He couldn't see her face underneath the hood of the vehicle she was holding over her shoulders, but she could clearly see him. He heard as she yelped and jumped back, losing her balance and falling to the ground, shocked. The car slid back over her shoulders, landing behind her with a small thud. Cell glared down at her. Her previous injuries were gone, and her outfit had changed yet again. On her back she carried a small backpack.

Something about her…it wasn't right. She was caught unawares, and yet there was none of the tear-filled resignation he had seen earlier. It was as if her spark had returned, even more painfully bright than before.

"Rin." He deadpanned, "What are you doing here? Are you so foolish that you wish to die ten days ahead of schedule?"

Rin struggled to her feet, brushing herself off, seemingly untroubled. This irritated him immensely.

"You gave me a fright."

She squeaked in surprise when he grabbed her by the collar and hoisted her up until she was at eye level with him, their noses almost touching. He gave her his most menacing look, "I will give you _far_ more than that if you do not answer my question – Why. Are. You here?"

She pulled herself from his grip, and she must have been well aware as she landed on the ground that he had _let_ her go. He was surprised she had even found the strength resist him at all. And then, despite the murder in his eyes, she gazed up at him, smiled a warm, loving smile, and said simply: "I'm here to train with you."

He felt his eye twitch.

"Excuse me?"

"We've got ten days till the games," she told him cheerfully, "I'm here to train with you in the meanwhile. Then, I'm gonna be the first to fight you."

He stared down at her blankly for a moment, feeling his brain screaming 'DOES NOT COMPUTE'. She…she was serious.

For lack of anything better to do, he threw his head back and laughed.

"I must have hit you harder than I thought," he chuckled, "But that…that was entertaining, so I will give you another chance to leave. Go – spend your last days wisely."

Surely now she would listen and make herself scarce. Perhaps a more amicable rejection would make things clearer.

"I plan to. So I'm not going anywhere."

Apparently _not_.

In a flash, he had her in the air by the throat, though his grip wasn't painfully strong. He glared up at her through narrowed eyes, "Then you will die by my hand!"

Honestly, she should have been nothing but a crater by now anyway…

Her eyes, they held a sort of defiance he had never seen from her before. She glared down at him, although she wasn't exactly practiced – it came out as more of a pout.

"No," She said, gripping his wrist – he hated her touch! – and wriggling in his grasp, "You're going to train me."

"Are you daft, girl? Why in Kami's name would I do that?"

Her eyes suddenly darkened, "Because you. Owe. Me."

"I…_what_?" He asked dangerously.

She seemed to sense that he was moments away from crushing her windpipe, because she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "You've admitted that I saved your life several times. If it weren't for me, you would already have been digested by some random forest creatures. Now you've killed thousands of people, and you want to destroy Earth. And it's all because of me. So you owe it to me to let me have a fighting chance against you."

Cell listened, stony-faced, but smirked at her last words, "Don't be foolish, Rin, you will never have a fighting chance against me!"

"Then I'll die trying!"

"If all you wanted was to be destroyed by me in some redundant act of self-redemption, you should have just said so," He tightened his grip to emphasize his point, feeling her pulse race underneath his fingers, "It would have wasted less of my time."

Rin struggled to breath, her eyes watering from the effort. She clawed uselessly at Cell's wrist, trying to pry herself free, but his grip was unrelenting. He watched her with dispassionate eyes, until she forced out a choked sentence.

"I always thought the pe…perfect man….would be honour…able."

She knew she had struck a nerve when his jaw tightened marginally, and his nails dug into her skin. Cell glared at her, warring with himself. Was honour a part of perfection? His saiyan, human and namekian cells screamed at him that it was. And killing a girl in cold blood (while normally acceptable in his books, in Rin's case he _had_ known her for years and she _had_ saved his life) wasn't particularly honourable. She wanted training, and the first fight in the Cell Games. Not a particularly trying request. Besides, he honestly had nothing else to do for the next ten days.

"Or…are you j-just worried that…Mr Perfect doesn't know how to teach somebody something without g-gutting them?"

Oh, and now she was suggesting that he was flawed – that he didn't have the self-control necessary to train her? The nerve of her! There was nothing he could not achieve.

She fell back onto her rear as he released her, now smirking coldly.

"Very well. You have convinced me."

Her eyes lit up excitedly, "Really?"

Such a foolish human. The idea of ten days alone with him should have terrified her, but she viewed it as a triumph.

'_We shall see how long that attitude lasts.'_

* * *

A/N: Oh snap! I guess that answers some questions about chapter one!

I'm glad Rin has found her happy place now, but how long will she last in there if Cell's beating the tar out of her on a daily basis? What will this mean for their relationship? Will they go forward, backwards? Are you wondering how the heck I'm gonna tie this up if Cell is supposed to die by the end of all this? Fear not dearies, all will be revealed!

Thank you all so much for your reviews! Seriously, this is what happens every morning: I wake up, immediately check my inbox, read my reviews, go make myself coffee with a silly grin on my face, come back and read them all again when I'm more awake, spend the rest of the day on a high. Such is my routine xD

So, this chapter is dedicated to (drum roll please!) Zerousy! That's right, give this reviewer a hand ladies and gents! This gender ambiguous reviewer has been extremely supportive! Yay Zerousy!

So, let me know what you guys think, your feedback touches my heart, truly ^^ When I read them, I feel like Rin felt in the shower. As in: 'omg, LIFE! It IS worth living after all!'


	11. Author's Note

Hello dear readers,

So sorry about this - I absolutely hate it when authors submit a chapter an it turns out to be the author's note of death...

Alas, life has taken an unexpected turn and I will be unable to update for the foreseeable future. I do intend to finish this, so fear not, but unfortunately this story is now on a temporary hiatus.

Thank you all so much for your support, and I truly apologize for this annoying little update. I just figured that you guys deserved to know instead of figuring it out after a prolonged silence.

I have great plans for this, and one day it WILL be completed in the glorious form of perfection! Until then, feel free to review and continue to give me your cherished feedback. I will still read them all and allow your words to fuel my fire xD

All my love: The Author of Simply Perfect.


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11:**

* * *

Getting to the arena was a bigger challenge than Rin had anticipated. It was a good thing she had left her shame back at Capsule Corp, or it might have also been humiliating.

After Cell agreed to her request he had simply floated into the air and said: "Come."

And then, she had been forced to run after him on foot.

This gave her time – as she focused her muscles into gaining as much maintainable speed as possible without over-exerting herself – to think on her next move. Sneaker-clad feet pounded over the grassy wasteland, eyes never once leaving the form of Cell in the air above her, occasionally causing her to stumble. He flew with his arms crossed, not looking back at her, as if he were casually flying to nowhere in particular.

She was still processing the fact that he had actually said yes. Whilst she knew that she would not have stopped trying until she either died or Cell gave in, she hadn't exactly considered the plan for after that. Getting his cooperation had seemed like too big a task to even contemplate thinking further. Oh, she knew the basic idea – she was going to somehow give Cell an appreciation for living. How exactly she would do that was a mystery.

She refused to contemplate the thought that coming had been a mistake, simply because her plan was a little half-baked. But how was she to go about doing what she'd set out to do when all she had was a vague notion? When dealing with someone as complicated as Cell, she had a feeling that 'winging it' would result in epic failure. At the same time, trying to be too meticulous would defeat the whole purpose – how could she teach someone to enjoy life while she was going about categorizing her every move? That was what _he_ did. He put everything into neatly labelled boxes, which was what allowed him to believe that destroying a planet was acceptable. Because earth happened to fit into a very unfortunate box…

So she couldn't be too particular with her planning, or attempt anything close to manipulation. Not that she would be suited (or qualified) to either of those.

The idea of having him train her had been an epiphany. Combat was something that they both loved; it would give them a sort of common ground and allow them to have consistent interaction. While he believed himself to be teaching her, it would in fact be the other way around. He wouldn't see it coming. He believed that she was competing against him to _redeem_ herself, thinking that she still harboured some form of self-loathing. That couldn't be farther from the truth, which was a good thing. If he cottoned on to her true purpose, all would be lost.

No, she would be unable to do anything as overt as say…give him a lecture on the value of humanity and compassion. While it would certainly speed things along, that wasn't nearly subtle enough. She hated being sneaky, but with Cell, he really left her no other choice.

She would go along with the training, and keep an eye out for any opportunities along the way. She knew that it would be hard and possibly (most likely) painful (extremely painful). But she wouldn't shutter her emotions. If she felt truly saddened or angered, she wouldn't hold back. Every reaction she would have in the next few days would be an example of what made her human, and he would need to see them all.

All she could do was pour her heart and soul into these next few days, make sure he felt the positive energy coming from her. Be as friendly as possible without being boring. Ensure that she was so happy and carefree that it piqued his curiosity, perhaps even prodding him to approach her with his own questions. She couldn't shove the knowledge onto him – she could only do her best to be an open book, and behave as invitingly as possible in the hopes that he would pick that book up and read it.

To her relief, Cell kept a steady pace and didn't speed up just to mess with her. She managed to just keep him in sight for the entire trip, although by the time she had covered the remaining fifteen miles, she was panting for breath.

She thought of Vegeta's last words before leaving her in Central City: _"Don't expect anyone to come running to your rescue should things turn ugly for you. You've chosen your own path, now you better have the guts to walk it."_

His words were harsh, but his message was true.

'_Vegeta was right. I'm a big girl now and I understand the consequences of the path I've chosen. Now I just have to make sure I stick with this.'_

She was excited. She was excited both to do her best with this new project and to get to know the mysterious man that held a place in her heart.

In contrast, Cell was thoroughly pissed off with himself.

How, he asked himself, _how _did he keep ending up in ridiculous situations with this girl? As he flew above her, staring stonily ahead and painfully aware of her scrabbling after him on the ground – _'Pathetic,'_ his mind helpfully supplied, and then forgave being helpful entirely and added, _'And now she's your pathetic little problem.' _– he found himself questioning the rationality that had led him to this thoroughly _unplanned _little excursion.

Of course, at the time it had all seemed perfectly logical. It always was with him – logic and order and…perfection. And yet now he found himself at a loss. He had agreed to something completely idiotic and, quite frankly, he had no idea how to proceed. He was supposed to…_train_ her?

He had been oh so quick to rise to the challenge, simply because it had been put in front of him and suggested that he would be unable to do it. And he was beginning to suspect that he had been played. She had put forth the idea in such a way that it would have been equally as humiliating to refuse. She had tricked him! _Rin_, the silly little brat that had practically worshipped his _larval_ form, of all things, had somehow managed to manipulate _him_, the now evolved epitome of perfection. That sly little fiend, he had underestimated her.

And he couldn't go back now. That would be even more shameful than it would have been had he simply refused in the first place. He was stuck with the incredibly absurd task of training her, just so he could kick her out of his ring in ten days. How had he allowed that to _happen_?

She was a plague. He should have killed her the moment she approached him all those years ago. Instead he had spent several hundred days in her company, watching her grow from a child irritant, to an adolescent irritant, to the absolutely intolerable young woman who continued to run after him with such determination.

She should have been dead so many times, he truly had no one but himself to blame for his current predicament. In Ginger Town, and then again in the Nicky Town airport, on that island after dealing with Piccolo, on that _other_ island after attaining perfection. And yet…there she was, insisting on shouldering her clumsy, boisterous way into his life. _Why?_

Why couldn't she just leave him alone?

Now he would simply have to make do and train her. He was at least certain that he could accomplish that task easily. Sort of. He hadn't exactly been designed for this…

Glaring ahead of him, he harrumphed. How hard could it be, teaching one little girl some new tricks? And he knew _exactly_ what the first lesson would be.

When he reached his arena, he touched down in the centre, looking impassively as Rin came to a halt, taking a deep breath and grinning up at him. His eyes pick up every detail of her as he took her in – the way her blonde hair was tied back and her bangs had become all windswept, the two pink spots high on her round cheekbones, the way her small mouth was parted slightly, her chest rising and falling heavily. He had never seen her so oddly dressed, with her black baggy pants and her tight red shirt with only two thin strings holding it in place. He briefly wondered if her attire would be practical for training purposes

"Geez, now _that'_s a warm-up. I haven't run that far in _ages_."

Rin stared around, gazing at the large white structure in awe. His arena was, to say the least, quite impressive. The pillars that rose from each of the four corners gave it a sort of quiet elegance.

"Hmmm, nice digs. Did you make this yourself?"

Good…ease things off with a simple compliment. She honestly didn't expect him to answer, but to her surprise, his stare was beginning to give off a definite air of smugness.

"Of course I did. Marvellous, is it not?"

So, he was taking pride in something other than rampant slaughter? Well that was excellent! She could certainly work with that.

"Yeah, it's very…um, what's the word? Imposing." She fidgeted a bit, and then pointed, "The pillars were a nice touch."

Cell inclined his head regally, "Thank you. Now, shall we proceed?"

"Right, of course. Just give me a sec."

Oh, this was awkward. So, _so_ awkward. She had never been good with situations like this. She dealt better in a struggle for her survival than in circumstances that left her feeling uncertain and insecure. Maybe things would get easier when Cell started throwing punches. What a depressing thought.

She pulled her backpack off and began digging around, pulling out a large rectangular container. Choosing a few of the capsules inside, she activated them and threw them to the ground. In a puff of smoke, a small camp was set up.

Cell stared at the camp in mild horror – an offensively pink tent, moderate living accommodations. She was turning his stage of death into a cute little cookout.

"I came prepared," She said in response to Cell's stony-eyed look. After Vegeta had dropped her in Central City, the level of panic had been such that most homes had been abandoned, their doors hanging open like gaping maws. Marauders had already begun sacking the abandoned shops, trolleys smashed through display windows, bits of glass littering the side-walk. Fighting off the few who got in her way had been a piece of cake – no one expected a five foot blonde with glasses to kick them to next Sunday. She had simply taken her pick of items and left.

"Where could you possibly have attained those?" He asked, narrowing his eyes knowingly. Rin felt her cheeks heat up.

"Well, after you blew up half of Central City, people seemed pretty eager to get out of town and they, um, left some stuff behind."

"Stealing, Rin?" He asked, raising a brow, "Doesn't that defeat your purpose of becoming a martyr for your people, a paradigm of justice and human rights?"

She clucked her tongue, sending him a frown, "It wasn't stealing, it was salvaging. And I left a note."

"Mere semantics won't change that you are now a thief. What did this note say? '_Forgive me for my sins, owner whose belongings I have acquired, for I am on a senseless quest to redeem myself and defeat the villain threatening our lives_'?"

She blinked at him in surprise before grinning, "Hey, that's not bad. But mine just said, '_sorry I took your stuff. I'll be happy to give it back if you really need it – I will be located 28 miles northeast of here – love, Rin_'."

"_Love, Rin_." He deadpanned, "You signed your name and gave your location. I suppose stupidity is the great failsafe in any act of crime."

Rin gave a small laugh as she realized that Cell, despite his stony expression, seemed to be _teasing_ her. And suddenly it wasn't awkward anymore. She was taken back to the forest all those years ago, snorting in response to his barbed comments on her schoolwork, or letting out a nervous giggle when she did something less than impressive that coaxed a smirk out of him – like trip over her own feet. They had so much history behind them, and that didn't just go away because he had gained a new voice and body. He was still the same old, dry-witted Cell.

"Well, I figured when the world goes to hell, it's only good manners to leave a note. And if they actually come all the way here just for their pink tent, then I'll give it to them," She gave a rare sly grin, "And if you're so in favour of me being a paradigm of justice, then what say we skip over the whole murdering them part?"

"I will skip over no such thing. If they disturb me for their pitiful wares, then they can be re-united with that hideous tent in the afterlife."

"Hideous?" She gasped, "How can you say that? It's the exact same colour of your eyes, that's why I…uh," Whoops. The awkward was back. She lowered her eyes, mentally kicking herself. Way to keep it cool, Rin. "I think it's pretty, anyway."

Cell slid his gaze over to the seemingly innocent structure, scowling at the offensive patchwork. The same colour as his eyes was it? Clearly the girl was in the possession of a rare and impressive mental disorder, for her to make her choice of bed area based on his optic sensors. What could the motivation for that possibly be? Surely she hated him by now. Was it as a reminder of her mission to defeat him, ludicrous as it was? Then why did she comment on it being 'pretty'? Was she going _out of her way to be confusing_?

"Get in the ring," Cell replied testily, and she realized he probably wasn't too pleased with her neat little temporary home. Well, that wasn't something she could compromise on for the sake of her mission. If she was going to do this, she had to have food, a place to sleep and various other human necessities. At least he didn't seem inclined to blow the camp away, comparison to his eyes aside. She hoisted herself onto the white arena, and made her way towards him.

"So, what now, sensei?" She asked, smiling her most endearing smile, attempting to gloss over her embarrassing slip of the tongue. Cell narrowed his eyes, causing her to falter.

"Call me that again and lose an eye."

The eye in question widened and she chuckled nervously, playing with the string of her pants, "S-sure thing, Cell."

Cell watched her fidget, though her smile refused to fall away. It was annoying.

"Now," He said in his most commanding tone of voice, somewhat amused at the way she instantly straightened up and looked more attentive, "I noticed you cannot fly."

Suddenly she appeared nervous, "You're not gonna fly me up real high and drop me are you?"

Cell blinked. That sounded…deliciously fun, but it wouldn't be very effective in teaching her...'_For the moment_'. With a small chuckle he said, "As amusing as that would be, I doubt that would teach you how to fly."

She seemed relieved, and then excitement once again took her, "Great! So how do we do this then?"

"Show me your energy."

Unsure as to what he meant, Rin hazarded a guess and held her hand out, forming a small ball of ki, "Like this?"

"Yes. Now, feel the energy in your hand. Compare it to the energy within and around you. What do you notice?"

Rin focused, vaguely aware of the pool of energy within herself, but barely able to sense the energy around her. She squeezed her eyes shut, determined to figure out what he was talking about. It almost felt like there was this mist surrounding her, vibrating slightly. It almost touched her skin, hovering just above the surface. She couldn't feel how far it stretched, but she suspected that the mist was everywhere. And, if she really focused, to the point where she almost got a headache from the strain, she could feel a sort of… pulse coming from Cell's direction. She clenched her teeth against the sudden onslaught of pain that spiked in her head when she got too close to him.

The bio-android himself felt it when her timid energy sniffed around her, seeming like a pale little rabbit in his mind. The rabbit hopped around, before raising her head and glancing in his direction. He smirked as she took a tentative step forward, curiously brushing over his energy. It felt like a pleasantly cool feather, stroking his skin. He expected her to recoil immediately, and watched carefully the moment when her face contorted in pain. But she merely approached him more cautiously, the rabbit barely brushing against him with her whiskers. If she were truly capably of sensing energy, then she would have to adjust to being in his presence to avoid constant pain. It would be delightfully cruel to unleash his power now, as she stroked over him so innocently. The eagle unleashing its claws and slashing at the foolish little mammal.

But that would defy the point of the lesson and possibly knock her unconscious.

"It's… the same," she said, answering Cell's question and retreating from his frightening presence cautiously, "Just more…concentrated."

"Good. It was your will that forced your ki into a ball, as pathetic and ineffective as it may be."

That little rabbit had far too soft a touch to be impressive.

She sighed, making no response.

"You, unlike most humans, possess enough energy to be manipulated. The trick to flight is learning to manipulate it correctly. In the same way that you force the ki together in a concentrated area in your hand, you can force it to do other things."

"Okay," She said, nodding seriously. Cell met her gaze.

"Manipulate the energy within and around your body. Force it to lift you into the air. Create a platform under your feet. Do whatever you can imagine to fly."

Well, that seemed simple enough. Rin closed her eyes, feeling out the energy within and around her. She caressed the vibrating mist, whispering to it in her mind. She imagined it enveloping her, lifting her gently into the air. And she could feel the energy obey her request, the prickling sensation latching onto her like a second skin. She could feel some of the power inside her free itself from her body to join the ki in the air.

"Well done." She heard Cell say as if from far away, and she opened her eyes.

She immediately screamed, flailing about in the air before plummeting towards the arena, several meters below her. She landed on her back, the air knocking out of her with a gasp. Her head banged against the hard stone beneath her, and she lay still for a moment, eyes prickling at the pain. She lifted a hand to the back of her head with a whimper.

"Owie, owie owie," Cell heard her whisper, and he rolled his eyes. The rabbit had lifted into the air with a bound and waited until it was unfortunately high up to remember that it had no wings. How pathetic. If she couldn't handle a fall, she would never handle training with him.

"On your feet, girl!" He barked. She squeaked in fright and pulled herself up, standing at attention with wide eyes and trembling lips. He smiled slowly, a cold, evil smile.

"You know, on second thought, your idea has merit."

"Huh?" She asked stupidly, before he appeared behind her, grabbing her by the hair. "Wha-Ahhh!"

She cried out in pain as Cell yanked her up into the air with him as he flew, flying up until the air turned chill. Rin clutched at him fearfully, her legs and arms wrapped around his waist, her head buried in his chest.

"Let go," Cell ordered when he stopped, but the girl merely shook her head, refusing to look down or relinquish her grip. Cell smirked down at the crown of her head, "Why Rin, I had no idea you had grown so…attached to me."

"Bugger off, I'm not moving!"

To emphasize, she tightened her hold. He laughed, thoroughly amused by her antics. He hadn't anticipated that she would resort to clinging to him like a helpless child, and somehow it was even more entertaining. But it really was time for her to let go.

His hand gripped her firmly around the back of her neck, prying her face away from his chest. She had her eyes clenched shut, face tight in fear.

"Please, please, please don't let me fall, Cell!"

"You're being silly. Even if you don't manage to fly, a mere fall won't kill you."

"Yeah, but it'll hurt!"

"Pain is something I suggest you get used to if you want to survive till our fight." He told her firmly, using his other hand to pull her arms loose. Rin struggled fiercely to cling to him, but soon he held her out in front of him. She had covered her eyes with her hands and was trembling, as he could feel through his grip on her neck.

"Look down," He ordered.

"I don't want – Ow!"

He tightened his grip painfully until she obeyed. He could almost taste her fear, sweet and satisfying as she gazed down at the arena, so far below them.

"I thought you said this wouldn't teach me how to fly!"

"Of course it won't. You already know how to fly. This will teach you how to apply it when in need."

"But this is too high, can't you just hang me by my underwear on the arena pillars or something less life-threatening?"

He frowned down at the back of her head. What an idiotic suggestion. She had spent too much of her life playing the victim if she was unable to resist giving him creative methods of torture.

"That is a long way to fall," He chuckled, "So you have enough time to figure out how to fly again."

"Wait – no!"

And with that, he released her. Cell kept just above her as she fell, a terrified scream tearing from her lips and rising up to him. Incredible – a simple fall was causing more fear to her than he ever had. How insulting.

Rin fought desperately to push her fear aside and concentrate. _'Okay energy, do your thing now please! Floating and clouds and birds and whatnot, you know what I mean! Oh Kami, it's not working, I'm going to hit the ground! Come on, fly, fly, fly! '_

She was approaching the ground fast, and still he sensed that she was struggling to control the energy. If she didn't manage to gain control this time, he would simply have to fly her up and do it again until she got it right. He had assumed that her only problem would be learning how to control her energy to get her in the air, but she had mastered that easily. No, her real problem was an ill-founded fear of heights. If she lost control every time she saw the ground, she would never master flight. And the best way to conquer her fears would be to face them.

But when he saw that she was too panicked to gain control, he reached out and grasped the back of her shirt, wrenching her to a halt, mere inches from the stone. Having her actually smash into the arena probably wouldn't assist her with that fear.

Rin stared at the ground below her, eyes wide and wet with tears, nose runny – not from actual crying, but rather from the unforgiving wind that had blown up at her face. She sniffled, and Cell dropped her unceremoniously to the floor. She got to her feet and turned to face him.

"That was pathetic," Cell deadpanned.

"I know…my bad."

Her blonde hair was a windswept, dishevelled mess and her bloodless face was streaked with tears. Cell knew that hitting the ground wouldn't help her conquer her fear of heights, but that didn't mean that she didn't deserve _some_ form of punishment for her failure. '_After all_,' he thought evilly, '_she isn't supposed to conquer her fear of __**me**__.'_

He curled his hand into a fist, searching her body to decide the best place to land the blow. He didn't worry about punching a whole through her – his control was, after all, perfect.

"Thank you, though," Rin breathed, flashing a smile, "I really thought you were gonna let me – _**oomph!**_"

Cell sank his fist into her stomach, feeling her soft flesh yield under the blow. She choked, doubling over and sinking to her knees. Cell stepped back, watching her collapse in pain. Honestly, that blow had practically been a tap. What exactly did she think fighting him in ten days' time would achieve?

"That was only a fraction of the pain I will inflict if you fail so miserably again, understand?"

Rin coughed from where she sat huddled over her stomach. Cell heard, "Ohh, Kami, that hurts…" before she lifted her hand in thumbs up, and then raised her head, a pained smile on her face, "Sure…thing."

Without waiting, he grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and shot into the air again, less amused this time when Rin wrapped herself around him.

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A/N: Okay, so life got pretty real for me a couple of days ago. I'm fine though, no one's died or anything horrid like that. This is still (technically) on hiatus, but that doesn't mean I won't update every now and again if you guys bug me for it. You can thank KRTheBlackPearl, for nearly making me cry with her latest review. I felt so, so bad!  
This is a snippet of life in the ring, and I'm posting it now even though it was supposed to be longer. There were supposed to be around four LONG chapters covering the next ten days, but that isn't gonna happen anymore. They'll still have exactly the same content, so I wont cut anything out, but there will probably be about five or so extra chapters since I'll be keeping things shorter. Not that 4200 words is short, but meh. I usually like longer chapters.

If you're wondering, I could really use your guy's love and support right now *sniffles pathetically* if I had my own Cell I'd cuddle him till he fried me. Or dropped me from fifty feet in the air...whichever comes first xD


	13. Chapter 12

**Barely a Chapter 12:**

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Flying was the best thing in the world.

Five or six hours after Cell began his up and drop routine, Rin was whizzing around, a kilowatt grin on her face.

"Woohoo-_Ow!_"

"Idiot."

Drifting away from the pillar she had just swerved into, she rubbed her smarting nose. So she hadn't exactly perfected the art, but the mere fact that she was able to actually _float_ above ground meant that any injuries, Cell-inflicted or otherwise, were well worth it.

Cell watched her with an indifferent expression from his usual position in the centre of the arena as she performed various acrobatics above his head.

"I take it you are pleased with yourself," he commented as she executed a particularly fancy cartwheel, his pink eyes trailing after her lazily.

"That's an understatement!" She exclaimed, smiling down at him and zooming in a tight circle before letting out a loud giggle, "In fact, I'm so happy, _I'm walking on air_." She waggled her eyebrows at him suggestively. His expression remained deadpan.

"Oh come on, that was funny! You could say my _spirits have soared_."

He closed his eyes as if praying for patience, "Stop."

"My mood has _risen to new heights_."

A blast of energy flew past her head, barely missing her, and blew up a nearby mountain. She turned and watched the explosion with wide eyes, before glancing down at Cell, who had a less than pleased look on his face.

"Okay, okay," she lowered onto the arena and sent him a frown, before her mouth twitched and as if she were holding back a smile, "Why're you being such a downer, Cell?"

Without a change of expression or tone, he replied; "I suppose I'm feeling low."

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A/N; Just a little drabble. I had couldn't get the idea of Rin and Cell exchanging corny flying puns out of my mind. Hopefully it'll coax a laugh out of some of you.


	14. Chapter 13

**A/N:** Hey guys! Just a short little angst-filled chapter to combat the ridiculousness of the last one. Sorry for the wait, but on the plus side I now have a job! That's right folks, I'm working as a secretary in training at my dads building of advocates (which is what we call the fancy-pantsh lawyers in SA. My daddy is a fancy-pantsh lawyer P:) and it is absolutely BEAUTIFUL! I have my own gorgeous little office, and the building has a grand staircase and old paintings and shtuff. Gosh it's lovely. All the people there look like they should be smoking pipes and wearing monocles ( one guy actually does wear a monocle...)! So cool, especially when they get into their freaking hogwarts robes and go to court. I'm definitely studying law, and hopefully I'll one day get to kick my dad's butt in trial! In the meanwhile, I get to get in good with my future colleagues. Ahhh...nepotism xD

Anyway, sorry about that ramble. I'm just so excited. Obviously this means that life will be EXTREMELY busy for me now. I mean, I have my studies and an 8 to 4 job. Not to mention my dad and I still have to work on our book. _And_ I have to socialize before my friends start kidnapping at random places. But I'll do my absolute best to give you guys a chapter every couple of weeks, and if I find the time, I'll update a whole bunch at once!

Okay, one last thing before you get to the chapter - OMFGWTFBBQ! I got, like, a BAJILLION reviews for my last two chapters! Holy Moly guys, I love you so much! (I'm almost in the triple digits!) I just...wow. Could my life get any better? Okay, yes, I'm in a freakishly good mood considering it's half-past-five in the morning, and a lot of it has to do with you guys! Thank you so, so much. Please enjoy this little nibble of a chapter (I'm sure you're all missing Cell's grumpy/evil little internal rants!) On to the chapter!

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**Chapter 13:**

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She slept peacefully.

Cell could hear her snores and snuffles clearly from his place in the arena. Rin had whipped out a sandwich dinner from her mini-fridge before bidding him goodnight and crawling into her tent with a big yawn. Not even twenty minutes later, she was gone to the world.

Clearly, she didn't have much on her mind, something which irked him to no end, particularly when his meditation was constantly being interrupted with thoughts on her. He hoped to Kami that she was plagued by horrific nightmares, but the soft giggles she would occasionally give dashed those thoughts entirely. She had always been a loud sleeper – snoring, occasionally mumbling incoherent words, giving bursts of laughter out of nowhere that had made him uneasy in his larval form. Her stubborn cheerfulness persisted into her dreams, which had always been annoying. Now he found it _extremely_ annoying.

Particularly after what had happened that afternoon.

"_Since you seem so confident in your airborne capabilities, I think it's time to put them to the test."_

_Rin cocked her head, "Oh, um, okay. You're the boss. How are you gonna do - ?"_

_Her question was cut short as he grabbed her upper arm and tossed her firmly into the air. To her credit, she refrained from screaming, and focused on controlling her momentum. As her ascent slowed, she gave a small smile and hovered in the air. Pleased with her progress she lowered her eyes down to the arena, obviously curious to see what his next move would be. _

_He was gone before she could locate him_.

_She was frantically scanning the surrounding terrain, unable to spot him. He watched from the air above her, able to sense it when she began to feel uneasy. She was clearly far more comfortable with him in her sights, even if he was obviously just as dangerous either way. _

_He appeared behind her and drew his fist back, determining the exact amount of strength and speed he would have to use in order to give her a chance. A whistle reached her ears just in time for her to spin around. His fist connected firmly with her jaw and she was propelled backwards through the air. Cell heard her gasp of pain as her teeth snapped together over her tongue, and he could imagine the blood filling her mouth. He gave her no time to deal with that before he was launching another attack in the form of a knee aimed at her gut. She gasped, barely managing to dive to the left, her eyes connecting with his for a brief moment – she looked terrified – before he spun around and directed another punch for her face. He could tell by the wildness in her eyes that all coherent thought was erased from her mind as she ducked under his arm, relying now only on instinct. Blood was bubbling from the corner of her lips and covering her chin. _

_Almost rolling his eyes at how easy she had made it, his arm whipped around and caught her around the throat, pinning her back against his chest. _

"_And ordinarily, you would now proceed to die," were his slightly bored words, his breath brushing over the top of her head._

_Her hands came to rest patiently on his arm, and he could guess that she was pouting at the sky in front of her, "It's not over 'till the fat lady sings – I can still get out of this!"_

"_It's over when I snap your neck," he retorted sharply, "And no, you can't. But feel free to try."_

_She wriggled her body, turning her head left and right, trying to find a way to break his grip. It was an odd sensation, to hold her fragile body as she squirmed, never once tightening his grip to crush or hurt her. It was almost uncomfortable, as her fleshy curves ground against him. He had never held a human so close – held a human at __**all**__ – without the intent to kill. Her hands now attempted to pull his arm away, but his hold was unflinching, and after a few minutes of pointless flailing, she took a break, gasping for breath. Trying to break free of a chokehold was tiring._

"_Giving up?" He asked smugly._

"_N…no…" Rin panted, patting his hand, "I'm, uh, trying to f…formulate a strategy."_

"_A strategy," he repeated, exasperated, "In a real battle you would have no time to strategize. I would simply…" his other arm came up, gripping the one side of her head, his remaining hand gripping the opposite side, "Twist."_

_He tensed, having half a mind to do just as he said. His fingers were pressed firmly into her hair, and for a brief moment he was distracted by its surprising softness, his thumb brushing over the strands thoughtfully. _

_And then he narrowed his eyes as he realized something – she was completely relaxed. She was still breathing heavily, the rise and fall of her chest brushing against his arm, but besides that there was absolutely nothing to indicate that she was afraid for her life in his grasp. There was no abnormal speeding up of her heartbeat, no anxiousness in her energy, no stiffness of her muscles. Rin hung limply in his hold, her head resting against his chest tiredly, and small hands still casually gripping his wrist._

_She was completely unworried that he would kill her. She __**trusted **__him not to. _

"_All right," Rin sighed, softly placing her hands over his, removing them from her hair. He allowed her to, and soon she was slipping from his arms and turning to hover in the air in front of him, a mock frown on her face. His arms folded across his chest to compensate for the strangely empty feeling they suddenly had, "This time, I concede defeat. But it won't be so easy next time!"_

"_I look forward to laughing at your efforts." He told her with a smirk. He'd be damned if he allowed her to catch wind of his unease._

That encounter hadn't left him since, and every attempt at meditation had been interrupted with memories of the feeling of her body twisting in his arms, her breastbone rising and falling easily against him. Tiny hands resting on him gently, soft strands of hair. He couldn't concentrate, couldn't focus on anything but his desire for these ten days to be over. And to his chagrin, it was not because of the much-anticipated final battle with Goku, but rather for the opportunity to be rid of her presence. She thought herself a clever little minx, rattling him with her ridiculous puns and her incessant good humour. She wanted to make a fool out of him by exercising whatever strange influence she had on the day of the tournament.

Oh yes, he had figured her out. Somehow she must have realized that she had unpredictable effects on him, and she was going to use that to her advantage. She had no idea with whom she was dealing. Come the day of the match, he wouldn't kick her from the ring or knock her unconscious to defeat her. She deserved so much worse. He would have her begging for death before their time was up, and after she had pleaded for him to end it all, he would toss her corpse to Goku as an example of what would happen to those who challenged him.

He would not be outsmarted by her. As he pictured the climactic end to Rin's life, and the horrified looks on the Z fighters' faces, he felt his rage quieting. There was nothing to fret about really…no matter what odd malfunctions Rin caused in him, they would all be taken care of soon. He was no fool. He knew he had made a mistake by becoming acquainted with a human for so long. She had wormed her way into his life while he was still incomplete and vulnerable. He contained cells from beings that required human contact and affection, and somehow she had become a trigger for those feelings. Their prolonged contact caused these disturbing flaws to persist even into his perfect form. She was like a virus, corrupting him, disturbing his ability to function. Preventing him from being the ultimate killing machine he was made to be. The only way to remedy the situation was to destroy the source and remove the infected data.

And that would come in due course.

Cell launched into the air. It was time for some cathartic training. He needed some place where he wouldn't have to be confined. And he knew just where that was – it was rare for him to get to make use of both Frieza and his father's wonderful genes.

* * *

A/N2: You missed this, didn't you? Huh, huh? C'mon, he's so jaded I'm canning myself! Golly, how can I be so happy and write such dark stuff? xD

So yes, this means that Rin is in for a helluva shit-storm come the tournament. Character death alert anyone? Mwuahahaha! You'll just have to see. Oh, and this should give a little insight into Cell's understanding of his feelings towards Rin. In a way, he's admitted that there IS something abnormal (for him anyway) going on with regards to her, but he isn't putting a label on it. All he's doing is acknowledging that its there so that he can systematically go about figuring how to get it the heck out of his system. So he knows she's special to him, but that doesn't make it all sunshine and rainbows from here. Oh no siree.

Goodness me, please review! I love hearing from you guys, and if anything could make me happier right now, it would be a metric fuck-ton of reviews! Uh...but no pressure xD


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